New Girl On The Roster
by TakerReigns
Summary: Cassie was raised around the WWE locker room, though she was kept separate from most because she tended to set things on fire with her mind. After being close forever her relationship with her father will be put to the test when she follows his footsteps. Please leave reviews with your thoughts! Roman Reigns/OC, The Undertaker, The Shield, & more Superstars
1. Chapter 1

I knew what I was about to do was going to get me into trouble. I didn't care. People had been babying me for too long. My father, I loved him, but I wasn't a baby and he needed to see that. I crouched at the gorilla position, poised for my entrance, listening for my music. It started blaring in the greatest arena for the WWE, Madison Square Garden in New York City. I saw the lights die in the arena and knew it was my time to go out.

Making my way out, my entrance was unlike the other divas. Where they were bouncy and energetic, my entrance was somber and dire. My character was one that could be received with great reviews if I did this right, I just hoped that I did.

I entered the ring, looking at my opponent, AJ Lee, a diva I'd known for years. For the most part, I had no problems with her, other than the fact that she occasionally went psychotic, and currently she picked up the Diva's championship again. My first match in the WWE was in fact a championship match because she put out an open call to the Diva's locker room.

Not knowing I was coming or anything about my character, AJ looked genuinely scared as she backed into the corner hugging the Diva's belt. As I entered, I raised my hands and fire shot down to the ring. Little did anyone who wasn't related to me or on the pyrotechnics team know, that wasn't pyrotechnics. When I got to the ring, the lights came back on and I took off my leather duster and dropped it outside the ring and went to the corner diagonal to her. I wasn't even sure she knew what was going on, I wasn't sure how much she was told before the match, I was put in as a last minute debut when one of the other divas got injured.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, the following is set for one fall and is a match for the Diva's Championship!" Lillian Garcia started. "Introducing first the challenger, from Death Valley, Morgana!"

I came out of the corner and looked around, not showing the excitement at finally being in the ring or my fear that my father would show up and kill me on the spot.

"And your Diva's Champion, AJ Lee!"

The ref called for the bell and the match started. AJ came out of the corner and immediately went for a right hand to my throat, but I blocked her, grabbing her by the wrist and pushing her back to the corner. I kicked her in the stomach a few times before, as I was told to do, I let her knock me backwards.

The match went back and forth for about ten minutes before AJ went for her submission move black widow. That's when I went to end the match. As I was about to, I heard the interruption coming and groaned in my mind.

"_Sierra. Hotel. India. Echo. Lima. Delta."_

I cursed under my breath. I had forgotten that AJ and Dean Ambrose had started dating about two weeks prior. Unfortunately for him, I wasn't afraid of The Shield so his girlfriend wouldn't be safe. I grabbed AJ and set her up for my finisher move, a move that was done by very few in the WWE. She hit the mat and the ref counted her out before The Shield crossed the barricades.

"MORGANA JUST DELIVERED A TOMBSTONE PILEDRIVER TO AJ LEE! MORGANA IS THE NEW WWE DIVA'S CHAMPION!" I could hear Jerry Lawler yelling into the microphones at the announce table.

The members of The Shield had no idea who had just beat AJ, but Dean was looking at me with pure hatred when they got into the ring. Roman Reigns looked at me and recognized me, hesitating before going back to character. Seth Rollins on the other hand looked confused.

"Get her!" Dean yelled at Roman and Seth as he tried to wake AJ.

As Roman and Seth advanced on me I didn't move, but the last thing I expected to happen did. The gong went off and the lights in the arena went off. The Undertaker had arrived.

When the lights came back on, The Undertaker was standing in the ring at my side. Dean got up from AJ's side. She was conscious now, but barely. He gave the two of us a look of disgust, finally realizing who I was. The Shield went to attack, but The Undertaker and I held them off. Ultimately they took AJ and left, leaving only The Undertaker and me in the ring. I was more intimidated to be there with him than with The Shield.

"Morgana." The Undertaker called to me from behind me.

I took a deep breath. I knew I couldn't get away with this with nobody finding out for long, especially when they told me I would pick up the Diva's Championship tonight, in my debut match, but I was hoping to have more time. Turning around, I looked up into his eyes.

"You have followed my footsteps. Remember, we will always have enemies."

"I know. I will face them as you have."

He raised his hands, fire blazing on the four ring posts. As he did, the look on his face told me he had a lot more to say to me, just not here, not now. When the fire reached its peak, the lights went out again. He was gone when they came on again, leaving me in the middle of the ring with just the referee who raised my arm in victory as he handed me the Diva's Championship belt.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two: Consequences**

I avoided Undertaker in the backstage area. I managed to avoid The Shield and AJ Lee while I was at it. When I left the ring, I went back to the dressing room, showered, got changed and left for the hotel. My mood was on an all-time high. Undertaker and The Shield would not be allowed to bring it down, though I knew that it wouldn't be long before they caught up to me and I had to face the events of the night.

After dropping my gym bag in my hotel room, I went to a bar not far from Madison Square Garden. I finished watching Raw there, thankful that without the make-up nobody would recognize me as Morgana. Here I was just Cassie and I liked it that way. I sat down at a booth and watched as Seth and Roman took on The Usos. The match went on a little longer than my match with AJ before it was interrupted… by none other than The Undertaker.

He entered the ring and grabbed Rollins by his throat, chokeslamming him. Jimmy and Jey must have figured out it was me in the ring earlier because they looked from Undertaker to their cousin and left. They had lost because Undertaker interfered anyway. Roman attempted to defend his tag partner, but it was no use. The Undertaker picked up the Samoan who was slightly smaller than him and delivered the same Tombstone Piledriver I had delivered to AJ Lee only an hour before. Rollins still hadn't gotten up from the chokeslam. Ambrose jumped into the ring and tried to attack, only to be grabbed and sent for a Last Ride.

When all the members of The Shield were lying on the mats, The Undertaker just looked into the cameras, eyes burning with anger. Yep, I was in deep shit when he found me. I could feel the color drain from me. _Oh well_, I thought, _Might as well enjoy my life while I still have it._

"Can I get another shot of Jack Daniels?" I called to the bartender.

The bartender came over to my booth with the shot. He looked at me and then looked at the screen, seeing The Undertaker.

"You know that's scripted, right?" he asked.

"Yeah. I know. Why?" I replied.

"You look scared of him."

"Of The Undertaker?" I asked.

"Yeah," he said. "You do realize that the WWE is scripted, right. There's nothing to be afraid of. He's just like anyone else."

_Ha!_ I thought. _You have no idea what the hell you're talking about because what is happening right now was _not _scripted._

"I know. I just have a lot on my mind. I'm not afraid of the WWE," I half-lied.

"Do you wanna talk? A lot of people talk to bartenders," he said.

"Nothing important. Just family stuff. I pissed my father off. Now I'm avoiding him until maybe tomorrow, unless he finds me."

"What did you do?"

"I took a job without telling him."

"So?"

"It's complicated," I said pulling out a fifty dollar bill, paying my tab. "I gotta go."

I left the bar and went for a walk in the crisp New York winter air. An hour later, just before Raw was scheduled to go off-air, I went back to my hotel. As I got off the elevator and walked to my room, I realized someone was waiting for me outside of my room.

"CASSIDY!"

"Shit," I mumbled under my breath, wondering how much trouble I'd be in if I set a small fire in the hotel to avoid him.

"Get over here. NOW!"

Nope. No going anywhere. No fire would save me. He'd stop it if I tried. I obeyed, walking down the hall, opening my hotel room door and going inside, waiting for him. When the door was closed, I went to the mini fridge and took out a bottle of water, needing to clear my head of the half a bottle of Jack Daniels I drank at the bar.

"What were you thinking, getting involved and not even telling me?" he yelled at me.

"I knew you'd tell me I was too young and it was too dangerous with my pyrokinesis."

"Cassie, you're barely twenty one! And you were throwing fire around that arena! I know those weren't pyrotechnics! You're obviously not mature enough to be a public figure in this company, you need to tell them. You have to quit."

I almost choked on my water.

"What?"

"You heard me. You need to quit. You're not ready for this. You were flaunting your power tonight. You could have hurt somebody. You're too young."

"I'm not quitting, Dad."

"You will because I told you to. If I need to call Stephanie and Paul, I will."

"Just because you are The Undertaker and everyone fears you doesn't mean I do! I can handle myself! Have you ever thought that maybe I used my power on purpose? I knew what I was doing! I'm tired of hiding all the time!"

"You will do what I say, Cassidy."

"No, I won't, Dad. I'm not a little girl anymore. You don't get to tell me what to do."

"I will not let you expose your powers to the world!"

"So why don't you help me!"

"You need to quit."

"The answer is no."

"You're being unreasonable. I will speak to you tomorrow. When you're sober."

He walked out the room. It took everything in me not to set the room on fire. Who did he think he was?


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three: New Friends**

The following day we were heading out to London. I was excited. I hadn't been to London as an adult. Any other time I'd gone was with my father as a minor, so I was under his control. Now I'd be able to do what I wanted to do. No more control from him on out of country trips.

I avoided my father on the way out of the hotel. He wasn't coming on this trip. Him and the current step-monster had a small baby. Any obligations he fulfilled to the company would strictly be stateside, so I knew once I made it onto the bus going to the International Terminal at JFK airport I'd be done dealing with him for a while. What I didn't expect was the person who would come sit next to me.

"So, Lassie, did ya father try to kill ya las' night?" Sheamus, aka Stephen Farrelly, asked me.

"Stephen, how did you know?"

"Come on, Cassie. Most of the locker room may not have recognized ya, but I did. Even before ya used ya Da's move on AJ."

"He's not gonna be happy unless I quit."

"Are ya gonna?"

"Hell no! He raised me around all of this and he's gonna get mad when I follow him in? No. I'm here, I'm a champ, and I'm not going anywhere!"

"That's my lassie!" Stephen said, giving me a hug before getting up and grabbing his carry-on bag.

We had gotten to the terminal. Security rushed us through so the fans wouldn't cause a commotion in the airport. We were the first ones boarded onto our flight to London. I had just sat down and put my headphones on closing my eyes, hoping to drown out the world until we landed in London, when I felt a hulking figure sit next to me.

"Jon is out for your blood, Cassie," Roman Reigns, aka Joe Anoa'i, said, smiling down at me.

"And you're not, Joe?"

"You still don't trust me?"

"Should I?"

"I could have hurt you before your father showed up last night. By the way, speaking of your father, did you call him to cover you?"

"No. He had as much idea I'd be in that ring as you did. He showed up because he was pissed off at me."

"He came back and attacked us last night."

"I know. Sorry."

"You're apologizing to me?"

"You didn't deserve what he did. No matter what our friendship is like. I saw what he did from the bar I was drinking at."

"That's where you went. We were all trying to find you. Jon and AJ are pissed off. She wants her belt back."

"Too bad. It's not her's anymore."

"She'll have her rematch."

"Uh-huh. And she's scripted to job to me. Especially after the way the WWE Universe reacted to my debut. Stephanie grabbed me this morning. I'm gonna have this belt for a while."

"She's gonna lose it."

"Not new, Joe."

"And Jon?"

"I'm not afraid of him anymore."

I was lying to myself more than him. Jonathan Good scared the hell out of me. When he first started hanging around the WWE he had put me in the hospital. Colby Lopez, aka Seth Rollins, helped him. Joe hadn't joined the WWE yet and had nothing to do with it and no idea how bad things had actually been.

"You know they're gonna turn this feud into storyline. The Shield will work with AJ to tear Morgana down."

I knew what he was talking about. It's how the writers worked. They saw an opportunity to set up an epic rivalry, whether it was the divas or the superstars, and they would exploit it as much as they could. It would usually have been me and AJ only, but since everyone knew AJ and Dean were an item on-screen and off The Shield would side with the little psychopath.

"What do you care, Joe? Roman Reigns is loyal to The Shield above all else."

He looked wounded for just a second before he recovered.

"But maybe Joe Anoa'i isn't."

I didn't know what to say to him, so I put my headphones back on, closed my eyes, and went to sleep until we got to London. When I woke up, I was leaning on Joe's shoulder. I moved, trying not to wake him, but he woke up anyway.

"How did I end up leaning on your shoulder?"

"You looked uncomfortable, so I tilted you onto me. You slept like a baby when I did." Joe replied.

I looked away trying to hide the blush. I'd known Joe's family for years, but I didn't really trust Joe. He was in too deep with Jon and Colby, who for most of the time they'd known me had made a sport to see how much pain I could handle, physically and emotionally.

"I would have been fine."

"I was just trying to be nice."

"Why, Joe?" I asked, finally getting annoyed. "Why are you being nice to me? Your best friends have been torturing me for years. You haven't been the nicest to me in the past. So why are you being nice to me now?"

"I'm not Jon and Colby. I may not have been nice to you, but I've never really hurt you, Cassie. I've never wanted to hurt you. Maybe, just maybe, I'm trying to be your friend because as the new kid on the roster, you're gonna need all the help you can get."

"I don't need your pity, Joe."

"I don't pity you, Cassie. I respect your ability. I don't think I know any diva who could have performed a Tombstone Piledriver that perfectly, especially since I have my suspicions you taught yourself."

I couldn't hide my smile.

"Kinda. My father is against me doing this. He wouldn't have trained me if I asked him to."

"That sucks. My family harassed me until I joined up. 'Taker really wants you out?"

"Yep. Came to my hotel room last night and told me it's dangerous and I need to quit."

"Injuries happen anywhere. If you're careful they'll be minimal."

"I don't think that's what he meant, but I know. I told him I won't quit."

"Then what do you think he meant?"

I looked away. Joe Anoa'i had no idea about my abilities and I wasn't going to tell him.

"I have no idea. He's getting paranoid as I grow up." I lied to him.

"If you don't want to tell me, fine. Don't lie to me, Cassie."

I glared at him.

"Don't accuse me of lying."

"Then don't lie to me."

"You don't know me well enough to know I'm lying, Joe."

"You didn't want to tell me something and that was a lame answer. You lied. Forget it."

I stayed quiet. He was able to read me so easily. Most people couldn't. I stayed lost in my thoughts for the last hour of the flight. On the approach to London Heathrow, I turned to where he was sitting and found Jonathan Fatu, aka Jimmy Uso, sitting there instead.

"Jonny. Where did your cousin go?" I asked, confused.

"He switched seats with me when AJ started yelling half an hour ago. You didn't hear her?"

"No. I was lost in my head, I guess."

"Are you okay, Cassie? For someone who became a breakout star of the WWE last night, you don't seem happy."

"I don't know how to feel. My dad told me he wants me to quit."

"Your dad will come around. He loves you more than he loves anything else."

"Thanks, Jonny."

"Anytime. What else is on your mind?"

"Your cousin."

"What about Joe?"

"He's acting friendly to me. It confuses me."

"Why?"

"Because him and his friends are usually kinda jerks to me."

"Ah. You're one of the few who doesn't just turn into a puddle around Joe. It's good for him, Cassie. But he's not a bad guy, most of the time. At least when he's not his Roman Reigns character."

"Are you sure?"

"I've known him my entire life, Cass."

"I know. I'm just seeing all of you in a new light now. You're not just big brothers and everything now. You're my peers."

"You'll be okay. You'll win everyone over and be as popular as your dad one day."

Jonny hugged me and when the plane landed he and Joshua stayed with me until we got to the hotel. Their room was next door to mine. It made me feel better. Rikishi's boys had always been my friends. Now they had me wondering if maybe Sika's son would be one too.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four: Warnings**

The day after we got to London I had a training session at the gym before going on to tape Smackdown. I was excited. It was my first official training session, because I didn't come up through NXT as so many of the Superstars and Divas did. While working on some of the moves they wanted me to showcase during my title defense at Smackdown I heard her voice before I saw her. AJ was in the gym.

"So, Cassidy, who did you fuck to get my title?"

I tensed. That may have been how some of the talent advanced in the WWE, but not me. I ignored her, focusing again on the spear over the top rope that the trainer had me working on, like my father had done to so many Superstars over the years.

"What's the matter, Cass? Don't have any moves of your own?"

I lost control. A fire sparked on a rope by AJ and a light fell five feet from where she was standing. I just glared at her. Message received, even if she couldn't prove that I had made that light fall.

"I'll get my title back, Cassidy. Jonny will help me. I have The Shield in my corner. Your Daddy is still in the U.S." AJ said as she backed out of the gym, leaving me with my thoughts.

When I finished training, I went to do some weight training. I needed something to focus my mind so I didn't lose control again. There was no way that I was going to let my father be right about my ability to keep my pyrokinesis under control. I wasn't going to quit.

"Are you sure you can handle all of that weight, Cassie?" his voice asked, pulling me out of my thoughts.

I looked up to see none other than John Cena standing over me.

"You shouldn't be lifting so much weight without a spotter at least, Baby Girl," he said, taking the position of a spotter.

"I'm okay, John. I just needed to lift enough to completely focus my mind," I explained.

"Why weren't you focused? Excited about your first title defense?"

"Excited is one word."

"What's going on?" he asked.

"AJ has already made it clear that The Shield will be backing her to get her title back. I'm worried they're gonna go off-script because the little psychopath is a sore loser."

"Is that all?"

I looked at him and laughed. John had his own history with AJ Lee.

"She's talking shit that I can't do this on my own. While I was training earlier she came out and asked who I slept with to get the title."

John whistled.

"Harsh. But that's not your game."

"No, its not. I wasn't even expecting to debut for another two months. I had my gear, but Stephanie and Paul said I wouldn't be debuting for two more months. Then Naomi got hurt and they called me up to take the AJ storyline with her calling out the Diva locker room for an open chance at the title. I was surprised to get the call, but I'd be stupid to pass it up."

"I get it. April is just a sore loser. She has her issues."

"I know. And I try to let that go, but I'm only gonna let her get away with so much."

"Just-"

I'll never know what John was going to warn me about. At that moment, Glenn Jacobs, aka Kane, walked into the weight room.

"John, I need to talk to Cassidy alone," he said.

John looked at me and walked out.

I went back to lifting the weights as Glenn spotted me.

"Cassie, why didn't you tell me that Mark was adamant that you not get involved in the WWE?" he asked me.

"Because it's my life, Glenn. I'm not fifteen anymore. He doesn't get to decide for me."

"You nearly set Madison Square Garden on fire."

"I did not. That was under control."

"And the incident with AJ earlier today? Was that under control?"

I put the weights back. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. What could I say? If I lied, Glenn would know. He was like a second father. If I told the truth, would he side with my father?

"Cassie, what happened with you and AJ earlier today?"

"A light fell while she was talking shit. I was in the ring with my trainer."

"Cassie." Glenn said in a warning tone.

"Alright, alright. I may have lost my temper a little and burned a rope making said light fall. She was accusing me of having no talent and sleeping my way to the title and I snapped. I'm sorry, Glenn. It won't happen again."

"Make sure it doesn't. She's shaken up, but she can't believe the timing of the light falling. I don't think she thinks it has anything to do with you. But if you make this a habit, I'm gonna have to agree with Mark and say this is too dangerous for you, Cassidy."

"Glenn, I can do this. I'll be fine. She just got the better of me."

"Don't let it happen again. At least not like that."

"I promise I'll try."

"Do your best, Cassie. That can't happen again. You could have killed her if that light hit her."

"It was nowhere near her, but fine."

Glenn gave me a stern look and walked out. I couldn't lift anymore weights. We were due at the arena within two hours. I had to get back to the hotel, shower, change, and make my way to the arena, ready to face AJ and The Shield.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five: Assistance**

The match between AJ and me was taking longer than it was supposed to. She wouldn't job to me like she was supposed to. Every time I got her into a hold or a position where I would be able to pin her or get her to submit, a member of The Shield distracted the referee while another member of The Shield broke what I was doing. She was trying to steal her title back!

I could hear Jerry Lawler getting excited at the match and angry at the way Dean, Seth, and yes, even Roman, were interfering in the match. My career wasn't going to start like this. AJ was supposed to job to me and she was going to do it whether she liked it or not. Struggling to keep control of the pyrokinesis, I realized for me to force the pin or submission, I would have to take The Shield down. I had no choice. If I didn't get out of the ring soon, I was likely to hurt myself or someone in the ring with me.

When I made it look like I was going to go for a torpedo kick from the top rope on AJ I saw that Dean jumped up from the announce table, sending Seth and Roman to distract the ref. At that point, I jumped off the top rope and torpedo kicked him sending him into the barricade, knocking him out. While he was still down, I jumped back into the ring and sent AJ on her Last Ride, pissed off that I had to go to the extremes I did.

Right after the ref called the three count, The Shield jumped into the ring. Dean was infuriated, Roman's face said he was pissed, but his eyes said something different, and Seth had a look that said he would love to hurt me. Dean made the trainers come and move AJ out of the ring, and when I tried to leave, Roman and Seth boxed me in.

"Morgana, Morgana. You should've just given my girl her title back," Dean said into the mic. "Now, not only have you stolen it a second time, but you've attacked The Shield. You've declared war, Morgana, and your Daddy isn't here to save you, is he?"

"I don't need The Undertaker at my side, Ambrose. Can you say the same about Rollins and Reigns? Can you fight me without them?" I said, knowing I was digging the hole even deeper, but knowing as long as he was running his mouth, he wouldn't order them to attack me.

"You think you can fight me?"

"I knocked you out once tonight."

"That was pure luck."

"There is only one way to find out, Dean."

"Cassie, don't," Roman whispered softly from behind me so that only I could hear him.

"They'd never put me in a match against someone as pathetic as you," Dean said.

"Afraid to lose to me?"

"Cass, stop," Roman whispered again.

I could tell that Dean was starting to lose his control of his ability to stay sane. I was pushing his buttons, but at this point, the WWE Universe wanted the banter between the daughter of The Undertaker and Dean Ambrose. What I didn't expect, was for him to call out someone else.

"I want The Authority out here right now!" Ambrose called.

It was a good thing that part of my make-up was a white foundation that made me look pale, because I was pretty sure I went white as a sheet when he pulled that out of his bag of tricks.

For a few minutes, the four of us stood in the ring in a tense silence. Then, the music started. The Authority's entrance music was blaring, their entrance video was playing on the Titantron. Stephanie McMahon and Paul Levesque came out from backstage with microphones in their hands.

"Dean Ambrose, I want you to know, that this is our show," Stephanie started. "As such, you don't call us out. We call you out."

"The only reason we even bothered coming out here is because it's what's good for business," Paul continued, and I groaned. "So, you have sixty seconds. Make your case."

"This rookie has stolen my girl's title. I want AJ to have a rematch for her title," Dean started, but Stephanie interrupted him.

"Dean, let me stop you right there. AJ just had her rematch. She lost. Morgana is the rightful Diva's Champion. AJ isn't entitled to another championship match unless she earns it," she said.

"So let me earn it for her," Dean said.

I didn't like where this was going.

"How would you suggest you do that, Dean?" Paul asked.

"The rookie thinks she can take The Shield. Let her take me in a match tonight. If I win, AJ gets another shot at the title," Dean said.

When Paul and Stephanie didn't automatically say no it worried me. It had been a while since the WWE had actually put a Diva and a Superstar in a match against each other. They spoke to each other for a few moments before Stephanie finally addressed the four of us in the ring.

"I think that would be great for business," she said with a smile. "Morgana, you will face Dean Ambrose right now in a match. If he wins, you will put your title up next Monday night on Raw against AJ Lee. If you win, AJ Lee won't get another title shot unless she earns it. If any member of The Shield interferes in this match, Ambrose will lose. We will have a second referee out here just to watch for that."

"Get ready, the match will begin right now!" Paul exclaimed as the two referees came from backstage and The Authority went back.

Seth and Roman left the ring, leaving me and Dean alone. Roman gave me a look of concern and I knew I was in trouble. There was no way, even if he lost, that Dean would let me out of that ring uninjured.

The bell rang and Dean came at me, but I was ready. I grabbed his wrist and brought him into a cross-arm breaker. It kept him down for about 90 seconds, but he got to the ropes and I had to let him go. We circled each other for two minutes before he feigned a punch on me and kicked me in the back on my head, leaving me seeing spots. I fell to one knee on the mat, but I was determined not to let him pin me. When he went for the pin, I let just enough of the fire in me heat my hands to make him essentially jump off of me when I pushed at him. It was cheating, but so was what he was doing.

We went back and forth for a while. For every shot I put on him, he got a few on me. No matter how much I tried to keep him in my mind as Dean Ambrose, I was slipping into viewing him as Jonathan Good, the guy who beat me into the hospital. I was getting tired. I needed out of the ring. I was already tired before the match because of AJ.

Finally, I saw my opportunity and seized it. Dean thought he had me beat. He was show-boating and I got up while he wasn't looking. When he turned around, I speared him with the last of my energy. Pinning him, the ref started to count. Unfortunately, Seth Rollins jumped into the ring and grabbed me by my hair, throwing me down on the mat head first.

My vision got even worse. I was seeing double. Rollins pinned me in the corner and started kicking me. The bell had been rung, I won because of his interference. Dean got up and started kicking me with Rollins. Finally, the dragged me to the center of the ring, picking me up and handing me to Roman.

"I'm sorry, Cassie," he whispered as the three of them power bombed me into unconsciousness.

A/N I'd really like to think what you think, so please review!


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six: Reunion**

I was unconscious for a day after The Shield power bombed me. When I woke up, my worst nightmare had come true, my father was at my side with Stephanie and Paul. I didn't want to know why.

"What are you three doing here?" I asked, my voice coarse from being out cold.

"Checking on you, Cassie," Stephanie said.

"Yeah, kid. We wanted to make sure that we didn't actually hurt you," Paul replied.

My father stayed silent.

"Dad? What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be back in Texas with Michelle and Kaia?" I asked.

He glared at me. He was still pissed at me.

"Cassie, Glenn explained that your father didn't know you negotiated a contract with us," Paul spoke up, breaking the silence.

"I would have thought you would have told your father about this before you spoke to Paul," Stephanie said.

"My father doesn't think I'm good enough. He still sees me as a baby. I'm sorry. I didn't realize I needed to talk to him."

"No, you don't," said Paul, earning his own glare from my father. "You're a fine talent, Cassidy. I was just surprised to find out that your father was so against you joining us. After all, he's such a legend in his own right."

I smiled at Paul, grateful that he made his stance clear. Whether my father approved or not, he wanted me on the roster. It was good enough for me. My father, however, was not as grateful.

"She is still my daughter, Paul. She had no right," he started before Stephanie cut him off.

"Actually, Mark, Cassidy is an amazing woman who has every right to follow any opportunity she has. This was her choice. You should support her, not try to force her to quit," she said as she stood up, grabbing Paul. "Cassie, I'm glad you're okay. Call us when the doctors discharge you. We'll send someone to pick you up. Feel better. Paul, I think Mark and Cassie need to talk."

"Feel better, Cassie," Paul said as he got up and followed his wife out of the room.

It was awkwardly silent in the room for a few minutes. My father wouldn't say anything to me, but I was still mad at him that he wanted me to quit. Still, I broke the silence.

"How did you know I was in the hospital?" I asked. "That episode of Smackdown won't air for another few days."

"Glenn called me after you were rushed into the hospital, Cassidy! After they power bombed you, your powers went on the fritz! The ring caught fire! Glenn ran out and chased them all away from you and got you out of there, to the hospital. This is why you need to quit!"

"I'm not gonna quit, Dad! I like to wrestle!"

"You could have hurt them!"

"I controlled the pyrokinesis until I lost consciousness! Don't I get any credit for that! I felt my control slipping, but I kept hold of it!"

"Like you did when you dropped that light by AJ?!"

"Okay, so I gave in then, but I didn't in the ring! AJ and Dean were trying to screw me! They went off-script! I shouldn't have been in the ring that long and I shouldn't have had a second match! And I still didn't set anyone or anything on fire while I was conscious! Even when I started seeing double, I kept that in check! I can do it! You just don't think I can! I'm not my mother!"

It was a low-blow and I knew it. My mother had a temper issue. Yes, my father had pyrokinesis, but so did my mother. And from her, I had my lack of self-control. My parents had been together in a moment of my father's weakness when he was in New York. She was young. Too young to want me, so she sent me to live with him. I saw her on occasion, but she had the impulse control of a toddler. Her temper ran hotter than my father's and he feared that rage in me. It was why he tended to keep me isolated growing up, worrying I would lose my temper and hurt someone.

"I never said you were Ivy, Cassie," he said, finally not yelling at me. "But you need to know that your abilities aren't something to just play with. You can really hurt yourself and the people around you if you're not always careful about keeping control of them."

"I know that, Dad. And I've had fewer and fewer accidents over the years. I hardly ever have any accidents with them anymore. But you need to trust me."

"I trust you. I don't trust the members of the WWE roster not to push you over the edge. Most of them have known you for years and have no idea what you can do."

"Because you've never let me tell them, Dad. If you let me tell them, maybe I wouldn't be so isolated here."

"That's dangerous. People aren't always nice to people who are different."

"I can handle that."

"Can you handle people you thought you could trust turning against you because you're different, Cassidy?"

I stopped for a minute. Could I? Better question was, could I really keep lying to everyone around me.

"If I had to, Dad."

"I hope you never have to," he said as he hugged me.

"How long are you staying?" I asked, knowing Michelle would kill him if he was gone for too long.

"I'm flying back to Texas once you're discharged. Michelle needs me."

I stayed quiet. _Michelle needs me._ _What about me, Dad?_ I thought, but wouldn't voice. He had his new daughter, again, to take care of. I was his only bastard child and I was always the one put on the back-burner now. I tried not to be mad about it. Kaia was the cutest baby sister. So were Chasey and Gracie, but Sara didn't like me being around the girls because she thought I was a bad influence and I hardly got to see them. Michelle and I didn't always get along, so I didn't get to see Kaia too much either. Before I was old enough to be left on my own my dad and I were inseparable, but now, he chose his "legitimate" families over me almost every time.

"Alright. Do you know when they're gonna let me go?" I asked.

"Tomorrow afternoon. My flight leaves at two."

He wasn't even staying until I was discharged, just until they cleared me for discharge in the morning.

"Okay," I said, hiding the hurt. "I'll be glad to be out of here."

"Glenn will be keeping an eye on you when I'm gone. John and Stephen said they'd help, too."

"That's great, but talk to Glenn, because he has it in his mind that he can force me to quit."

"I will. You should get some rest, Cassidy. I'm gonna get something to eat and call Michelle to give her an update. I'll be back in a bit."

"Alright, Dad," I said, leaning back and closing my eyes.

I heard him leave the room.

"It was nice seeing you too, Dad," I said to the thin air.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven: Return to Raw**

Monday night when Raw was being aired, I was at the arena. I wasn't in a match, but I was there still. Instead, I decided I would mess with The Shield. Dean Ambrose was putting his United States Championship against Rey Mysterio, a friend of mine for most of my life. From what I heard, Oscar was supposed to job to Dean. I was gonna put a monkey wrench into that, much like Triple H and Shawn Michaels' used to do.

The match was going as it should have. When it looked like the match was gonna end, I interrupted. I didn't interfere, just distracted Dean. Seth and Roman were at ringside, "watching" to ensure that Dean kept his belt. I came out, my music blaring in the arena, and walked ringside. When Seth came at me, I speared him, like I had speared Dean at the Smackdown taping nights before. He hit the ground, groaning. Roman looked at me.

"Cassie," he whispered warningly. "Don't do this."

"Too late, Roman," I said with venom.

I was pissed he had power bombed me. Nothing he could say could fix that. That match wasn't scripted. He didn't have to do that. He didn't have to put me in the hospital, joining his friends in those ranks.

Roman charged at me, and I moved out of the way, letting him spear the announce table. He was seeing stars and I knew it. Behind me, standing over him, Jerry Lawler and JBL were going nuts. I moved closer to the ring, making it too tempting for Dean to ignore me.

"You'll pay for that!" he yelled at me as he moved to grab me by my hair.

Unfortunately for Dean, he didn't see what I did, which was Rey Mysterio getting ready to drop him onto the ropes for the 619. Oscar dropped him onto the ropes and hit him with the 619. Dean stumbled into the middle of the ring. Rey hit him from the top rope and got the pin on him. The WWE Universe went nuts as Rey Mysterio's arm was raised in victory.

I climbed into the ring to stand at Rey's side because I knew The Shield wouldn't just let that go. I grabbed his other arm, raising it in victory, having handed him the United States Championship belt. As The Shield got up to face us, AJ Lee's music started blaring from the speakers and she came running to the ring.

"Leave, Oscar. This isn't about you," I said as I hugged him and pushed him out.

He wouldn't leave. He's stubborn like that. He's a tough wrestler and he doesn't stand for men picking on women as The Shield had done to me. We were surrounded. Soon enough, we weren't outnumbered anymore when John Cena and Sheamus joined the craziness in the ring.

Dean went to grab Rey Mysterio, who kicked him in his head. John Cena started beating on Roman Reigns as Sheamus grabbed Seth Rollins and beat on him. AJ came at me and tried to grab my hair to bang my head into the mat or the turnbuckle. I grabbed her instead and Tombstoned her in the middle of the ring, making the crowd go wild. As I Tomstoned her, Sheamus gave Seth a Brogue Kick, John gave Roman and Attitude Adjustment, and Dean got another 619. My three friends and I stood over the barely moving forms of the former United States and Diva's Champions, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns, victorious, from a brawl that was never supposed to happen and we all knew it.

When we all finally made it backstage, I was brought straight to Stephanie McMahon. I figured I would be, and I was just glad they hadn't dragged the others in with me.

"What are you doing, Cassie?!" she yelled when the door was closed behind me.

"Making things interesting."

"You can't just change things like that!"

"Like Dean did during Smackdown when he got you guys to give him that match against me?"

"Cassidy, I know you're new to the roster, but you know how things work around here. Things are scripted for a reason."

"I know, Stephanie. I was just pissed off after Smackdown."

"I should suspend you."

"Are you going to?"

"No. That brawl got the biggest reaction of the night. We'll work with it, but don't make this a habit. If you want to change something, come talk to me first?"

"Alright, Stephanie."

"One question, Cassie."

"What?"

"Did Oscar, Stephen, or John know what you were gonna do ahead of time?"

"No. I didn't tell anyone. I tried to get Oscar to leave the ring after the match before Jon, Colby, and Joe got back up, but he wouldn't leave me. John and Stephen must've seen what was going on and come in to help out. They both told my dad they'd help keep an eye on me, but no, I didn't tell anyone because I wasn't sure how far I was gonna push things myself. I wanted to see how far things would go if I went ringside during the title match. When Colby and Joe tried to attack, I got angrier and took it further."

"Alright. They'll get a pass on this with just a warning to let us know if they know anything like this is in the works again. I mean it, Cassie. You hold a title, you can get away with so much, but you don't run the show."

"I know, Stephanie," I said as I turned to leave the office.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight: The Attack**

Things got really bad for me after what I did on Raw. Jonathan Good and Colby Lopez were out for my blood worse than ever. It wasn't just on-screen that they were out for me. I started noticing them following me when I was off on my own. It made me nervous.

It was about a month after the incident on Raw that they found their opening to come after me. I didn't see them when I had been out drinking in Boston, celebrating another title defense against AJ. A few of the members of the Raw roster were there celebrating with me, watching me down drink after drink. At the end of the night, I turned down their offer to help me back to my hotel and accepted The Uso's offer of calling me a cab while they drove my rental back instead… I should've accepted the offer for them to ride with me.

My floor in the hotel seemed more deserted than normal. In my drunken state, the hotel hallway seemed creepy, which coming from someone who grew up with the "Deadman" as Daddy is saying something. I pulled my keycard out of my shoulder bag as I walked down the hall from the elevator, not wanting to stay in the hallway longer than I had to, looking around to see if anything was off. I didn't see anything. When I opened my door and went to close it, it was pushed in by two people in all black. Jonathan and Colby.

"What the hell are you two doing? Get out!" I yelled at them, not believing what was in front of my eyes.

Jonathan shook his head at me and Colby grabbed me, dragging me further into the room.

"You stupid bitch. You should've just quit like your Daddy told you to." Jonathan said to me as he punched me in my stomach.

Colby threw me down on my bed and started tearing at my clothes. I tried to fight him off, but I was so drunk I was surprised I wasn't slurring my words.

"We're gonna teach you how to obey like a good little girl, _all night long_," Colby said, as he continued to strip me.

Jonathan was looking at me hungrily as Colby stripped me naked, undressing himself as he did. When he was fully undressed, he came over to the bed and forced himself in my mouth, grabbing me by my hair. Colby started stripping himself as Jonathan forcibly pumped himself in and out of my mouth.

The night seemed like it would never end. They took turns forcing me to do anything they wanted. If I fought, they beat me, but never anywhere my clothes wouldn't cover. It was obvious these two knew how not to get caught. Finally, as the sun came up, they left my hotel room, but not without a final threat.

"If you tell anyone about this, Cassidy, anyone at all, we will come back and this will be nothing compared to what we'll do to you then," Jonathan said to me as he kissed me like a lover would kiss his lover.

I wanted to puke. I wanted to cry. I wanted to bleed.

When they left, I took a scalding hot shower, trying to burn away their touch. I brushed my teeth and hair, but I could still feel their touch everywhere. I dropped my bathrobe and looked at the bruises they had left on my stomach and chest. My hatred of myself boiled over and I grabbed a pair of grooming scissors out of my bag.

I hadn't done it since I was sixteen. I took the scissors and pressed them against my flesh, dragging them across as hard as I could. My flesh split and blood welled up, spilling over the canyon I had just created in the flesh of my breast. I did it again and again, until I stopped feeling the hatred. I watched as the blood dripped down my body, fascinated by how easy it was for me to go back to something that was so hard for me to stop. My thoughts were interrupted by a knock on my hotel room door.

"Just a minute, I'm coming out of the shower!" I called so I had a minute to clean up the blood.

I took a washcloth and ran cool water on it and then wiped all of the blood off of me. The blood had already started to clot where I'd cut myself and I knew that if I left those areas alone, they wouldn't just start to bleed again. When I was completely blood-free, I put my bathrobe back on and went to the hotel room door.

"What do _you _want?" I asked the hulking Samoan on the other side of my door.

"Are you okay? Jon and Colby just showed up talking about they finally taught you a lesson," Roman Reigns replied.

"I have nothing to say to you," I said trying to close the door.

He stopped me. He put his foot in the door, not pushing his way in, but not letting me close him out.

"Cassie, why do you hate me?" he asked me.

"You're one of them, _Roman_. You tried to tell me you weren't. But you didn't have to put me in the hospital. That power bomb wasn't scripted. You went along with it. You're just like them now. I hope you're all very happy together."

I could see his nostrils flaring in anger. I backed up slightly, nervous that he would attack, and he pushed the door open more, getting a clear view of my torn clothes still on the floor from last night. His eyes went from rage to pain.

"Cassie, what did they do to you?" he asked me.

"I have nothing to say to you. Please go away."

"I'm not like them. I don't know what they did, but I wouldn't hurt you," he replied. "Please don't shut me out."

He reached out and grabbed one of my hands, pulling me closer to him. I gasped because I didn't want to be touched. He held me closer to him, but the zipper of his jacket hit one of my cuts and it started bleeding again. Within a minute, the blood seeped through my bathrobe and onto his hand.

"Cassie," he said putting me at arm's length so he could look at me. "Why are you bleeding?"

I panicked.

"It's nothing. Just go away!" I said as I took the opportunity of his momentary shock to push him out of my room and lock the door, putting on the safety chain. "Leave me alone, Roman!"


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine: Return Home**

After that night in Boston, I called Paul and asked him if I could take a week off. I told him that when I had come down on the ropes I hit my rib cage harder than I thought and it was sore so I just wanted to take a few days to go home and relax before getting in ring again. Paul, knowing I fought my father to become a Diva, didn't think anything about me wanting to put my health first for a few days and gave me the week off.

I went back to Texas to the house my Dad and I had shared when I was growing up. He had made some modifications to the house just for me, the basement was completely fireproofed. It came in handy when I hit puberty and my ability to control the pyrokinesis went from shaky to nonexistent. I needed that basement after Boston. More and more I felt the fire raging inside of me and it was harder to keep it inside.

After having lunch and calling Jonathan and Joshua Fatu, then John Cena, Stephen Farrelly, and Oscar Gutierrez to let them know I made it home safely, I locked myself in the basement. It was cathartic, to just sit in the basement with nothing around me that I could destroy or anyone around me that I could hurt and just let the flames roar. My hair danced in the wind from the flames, and for the first time since I was twelve and watched my best friend, Denise Hickenbottom, die of a weak heart, I cried.

My heart felt like it was broken. I cried because I felt like my father would hate me for my choice and would never choose me over his other families again. I cried because of what Jonathan Good and Colby Lopez had done to me in the hotel room in Boston. I cried because I was in front of everyone but nobody knew me. The more I cried the stronger the inferno grew.

Unfortunately, the fire, which I had long ago learned to prevent from burning me and my clothes, did reopen the gashes in my breasts and stomach, a trick I had never learned to stop. I had never learned to prevent my pyrokinesis from feeding off of an open wound on my body. If I was hurt and I started a fire, the fire would attack the open wound, causing it to bleed.

The next three days at the house were pretty much repeats of the first. I only left the basement to eat, sleep, use the bathroom, and bathe. While I was eating or preparing meals, I would return messages from friends who wanted to check on me so they wouldn't get worried. Then, I would lock myself in the basement again.

On the fourth day, things changed. I had been lying on the basement floor in the middle of my inferno of emotion when the basement door opened. I panicked and the flames shot up the stairs. When my inferno was completely put out, I knew who was there.

"Why didn't you tell me you were coming home for a few days, Cassie?" Dad asked me.

I sat up, trying to cover myself with the blanket I was lying on to keep him from seeing my bleeding breasts. Dad had been furious with me the last time he found out I was cutting myself.

"I just needed some time to relax. No big deal."

"I haven't seen you since London. A lot has happened with you. I think it would have been nice to have a chance to sit down," he said, suspiciously eyeing the blanket.

He already knew. He knew something was wrong with me.

"Who called you and told you?" I asked.

"It doesn't matter," he replied.

"Actually, it does, Dad. I'd like to know who's reporting my activities to you like a spy."

"Nobody is spying for me. Someone called me concerned about you. That's all. They said that you were freaked out and then asked for a few days off to come home because you were hurt. Are you hurt, Cassie? Or are you trying to hide something?"

Who could have told him?

"I'm fine, Dad. I needed a few days to clear my head."

"You needed more than to clear your head. You've been here for four days and you've had an inferno raging down here for most of them. What's going on?"

_Damn_, I thought.

"I had a rough night a few days ago and thought that I could use some time to just let the pyro juices flow, instead of accidentally letting them go at the wrong time. I figured come here, let my power flow free for a few days and go back to work. I couldn't explain that to Paul, so I told him I bruised my ribs on the ropes on Monday's Raw event. But as you see, I'm fine."

He still looked suspiciously at the blanket. I didn't know why he wasn't pushing. He knew I was skirting his questions.

"Is that all?"

"Pretty much. I just needed time to myself, which you of all people know, can be hard when you're on the road. What about you? Does Michelle know you're here?"

"She knows. She told me to come check on you. She's just as worried about you as I am, Cassie."

_Michelle McCool worried about me? The Apocalypse was coming_, I thought.

"I'm fine, Dad. You can tell her I'm okay. How're Kaia, Chasey, Gracey, and Gunner?"

I knew he would spot the diversion, but I really didn't want to talk about me right now.

"The girls are getting big. Chasey and Gracey miss you. Gunner has been asking to see you."

"I'll try to see Gunner before I go. You know Sara won't let me near Chasey and Gracey."

He dropped his head. He hated when I brought up how his ex-wives hated me and hated me being around my half-siblings. Jodi Lynn couldn't really do anything anymore since Gunner was an adult now, but Sara did her best to keep me away from Chasey and Gracey.

"I know. That's why Michelle and I want you to come to dinner tomorrow night. We'll have Chasey and Gracey. Gunner will be there. You'll get to see all three of your sisters and your brother."

"Sara will kill you if she finds out."

"I don't care what Sara says. You're my daughter. They're my daughters. You all have a right to know each other."

It was the first time since I had become an adult he was willing to fight for me with Sara.

"Fine, but one condition."

He looked at me in shock.

"What's that?"

"Morgana can use her Dad at Raw next week to help her in her match against The Shield."

He looked at me like I had asked him to give me the moon.

"Come on, Dad. Please, I'm not asking you to do anything but be The Deadman I've always loved and my Dad. Can't you support me? I've been working non-stop for the WWE for two months and I haven't had any pyrokinetic accidents. Doesn't that show you that I can handle this? I'm not asking you to marry me off to a McMahon or anyone else in the business, just support me as a wrestler. I'm good, Dad! I've learned so much just watching you all these years! Please, put aside your view of me as a baby and see me as a woman."

He looked at me with a mix of emotions I couldn't identify.

"I'll do it, but you need to do something else for me, Cassidy."

I was so elated I made my first mistake.

"Anything, Dad!"

"Answer me honestly," he started. "Are you hurting yourself again?"

I dropped my head in shame. Then I dropped the blanket.

"Yes."

"Damn it, Cassidy! I thought you stopped that years ago!"

I wrapped the blanket around me again as my father yelled at me.

"What are they doing to you, Cassidy? Why would you do this to yourself? Have you had yourself taken care of? How bad is it?"

I stayed silent.

"Cassidy answer me!"

"I don't remember why I did it. I was drunk and in a bad place. I'm sorry. No, nobody has checked them, but I have been cleaning them every night, but they reopen every day that I come down here."

"Go change into a tank top and meet me in the kitchen. I'll clean you up."

I knew better than to argue with him. Keeping the blanket wrapped around my shoulders, I rushed past my father, feeling guilty about lying to him about why I hurt myself. After I changed into a low-cut tank top that would expose my bleeding cuts, I went back to the kitchen where he was sitting with the first aid kit.

"Sit down."

I sat down on a stool next to him.

"Dad, I'm sorry. Please don't tell anyone."

"Is this the only time you've hurt yourself since you told me you stopped five years ago?"

"Yes. I swear, I haven't cut myself since I was sixteen until a few days ago."

"I won't say anything to Glenn if you promise you won't keep doing this, Cassie. I hate seeing you hurt like this. There are better ways to deal with your pain."

"I'll try my best. I promise."

"Cassie," he said in a warning tone.

"You know I can only promise to do my best, Dad. The last time I promised I wouldn't cut anymore I nearly killed myself with blood loss. I promise I'll try not to hurt myself anymore. Just please don't tell anyone."

He sighed in defeat. He knew I was right. When he tried to force me to promise not to cut as a teenager, I felt so much pressure I started cutting more. It got to the point he found me unconscious on our hotel room floor after a taping of Raw one night and had to take me to the hospital. Anyone who was part of the company back then knew that I had done it to myself and I really didn't want that getting around again.

"Can I ask you something?"

"What, Cassie?" Dad replied while applying an antiseptic ointment to my cuts.

"Who told you what was happening with me? Was it Glenn?"

Dad took a deep breath. It wasn't Glenn. He was nervous to talk to me about this, so it definitely wasn't Glenn.

"No, not Glenn. I got a call from the son of an old friend. He told me he was worried about you. According to him, you've been having a hard time with members of The Shield and he was worried you might be hurt or might have hurt yourself."

"But who is this old friend, Dad?"

"Leati Anoa'i, Junior. His father is Sika."

_Leati Anoa'i, Junior? Damn it!_ I thought.

"Roman Reigns called you? He's a member of The Shield, Dad!"

"Calm down, Cassie. I know that. He was worried about you. He said he came to your hotel room the other day to check on you because of the other idiots, saw you were bleeding, you and him argued and you kicked him out. He said that you left the following day. Is this true? Did he see these bleeding?"

I looked at the floor.

"Yes. He knocked on my door Tuesday morning. I had just finished cleaning these up, but he pulled me closer to him and made them start bleeding again. We argued, I pushed him away and asked for time off."

"Why was he worried about the other members of his group?"

"Jonathan and Colby, Dean and Seth, are kinda crazy and don't like me. You knew that. I've had trouble with them before, Dad."

"Are you sure that's it, Cassie?"

I couldn't tell him I was raped repeatedly.

"Yes, Dad. So will you be there next Monday?"

"I already said I would."

"Thank you, Daddy."

I hugged my father for the first time in months, genuinely feeling as if I would be safe when I returned to the Raw locker room because he would be by my side. I felt horrible that I had lied to him, but I couldn't tell him that I failed to protect myself.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten: Demonic Family Reunion**

When I returned to Raw, it was after talking to Stephanie about Dad joining me in the match against The Shield. She loved the idea so much, she changed the match so that it was now a handicap match. Before I talked to her the match was supposed to be AJ Lee and The Shield versus Morgana, Rey Mysterio, Sheamus, and John Cena. After I talked to her, it became a four on three handicap in their favor, sort of.

AJ and The Shield entered first. As I waited to make my entrance in the gorilla position I was nervous as hell. The music started and the three of us started out. The lights were out in the arena and the fire kept blazing from the ring posts and the stage, purely due to the work of the pyrotechnics team. We made our way into the ring, Dad and I took off our matching leather dusters and he called the lights back on as he always does.

"Ladies and Gentleman, the following is a four on three handicap match set for one fall. Introducing first, from Union City, New Jersey AJ Lee and her partners The Shield!" Lillian Garcia announced. "And their challengers, from Death Valley, The Family of Destruction, Kane, Undertaker and Morgana!"

It had been a while since Glenn had wrestled under The Big Red Monster gimmick and not just been Corporate Kane, but for that one night, Stephanie and Paul decided a demonic family reunion was in order. Dean started the match, smirking at me as I started towards the apron. Kane saw the look in his eye and put his hand on Dad's chest, signaling he'd start the match.

The match was going great. Dad and Kane took turns beating on Seth and Dean. For some reason, they weren't tagging in Roman just yet. Finally, Dean tagged in AJ after Dad performed Old School on him. Dad came to the corner and tagged me in.

"Keep it controlled, Cass," he whispered to me as I climbed through the ropes.

I looked at my dad, trying to figure out if he was warning me or babying me. He looked tired so I decided he was warning me and didn't get upset. I nodded at him, but in that moment, AJ came running behind me, grabbed me by my hair and set me up in a neckbreaker.

As I stood back up, I wanted to hurt her. She wasn't supposed to do that. Across the ring, she just grinned at me with that psychotic smile of her's.

"What's the matter, Morgana? Did I break up Daddy/Daughter time?" she taunted me.

I looked at my father and he shook his head no. No, meaning do not let the pyrokinesis get the best of me tonight. I nodded that I understood and I ran at AJ, grabbed her and performed a DDT. While she was still seeing stars, I covered her. Dean ran into the ring and grabbed me from behind. I tensed at his touch.

"What, it's not like I don't know _every inch of you_," he whispered into my ear.

I could feel myself start to shake and I hated myself for it. He could feel the trembling in my body as I tried to work out how to break his hold.

"You've been a good girl. We'll come visit you again soon," he whispered.

I couldn't handle that. I let out a howl of rage and threw my head back into his, making a solid connection with his nose. He loosened his grip and I got out of his hold. When I turned, my father was standing there to grab him. I kicked Ambrose and my father lifted him for the chokeslam.

At that moment, AJ punched me in the face and tried to roll me up for the three count. My face started to sting. Before I kicked out, I felt my face near my eye and looked at my fingers, which were covered in blood. I looked at AJ's right hand, where she was wearing a ring that wasn't allowed during matches on her finger. She must have slipped it on when Dean was distracting me.

We were still the legal men in the ring. I kicked out and a brawl erupted in the ring. Seth and Roman jumped in to come to Dean's rescue. Kane joined Dad. AJ tried to grab my hair and bash my head into the ring. It wasn't going to happen. I got hold of her arm and put her in a cross-arm breaker submission hold while Dad and Kane tossed The Shield from the ring. AJ started screaming and tapped out. I leaned down where only she could hear me.

"If you keep going off-script, April, I'll break every bone in your body. I'm done," I warned her, blood flowing down from the corner of my eye.

She looked at me with real fear. I had never outright threatened anyone in the WWE before. I've stayed on-script or close to it with few exceptions since I started. I had never intentionally hurt anyone trying to get them out on injury. But with April Jeanette Mendez and The Shield, I was ready to cross that line. I wasn't going to keep being a punching bag.

I stood up and The Shield grabbed AJ and ran. The ref grabbed my right hand and held it up in victory. I grabbed Dad's hand and he grabbed Kane's. He hadn't noticed my eye yet. When the ref put my hand down and gave me my championship belt back, he looked at me and noticed. It was then he did the very thing he told me not to do. He lost control.

Fire struck down on the ramp, less than three feet from where AJ was standing. The Shield and AJ turned and looked in fear at the Family of Destruction. Dad exited the ring and started up the ramp, towards AJ. Dean tried to block AJ from him, but Kane left the ring after him. I wasn't sure what to do, so I stayed put.

Kane and Dad made The Shield look like babies with the way they demolished the wall they made between themselves and Dad and Kane. Dad grabbed AJ and shoved her back down towards the ring. Kane stayed with The Shield, standing over them, making it clear that AJ messed up and this matter was no longer any of their concern.

When AJ was in the ring, Dad made a big show of forcibly taking her right hand out of her pocket and pulling the ring off of her finger. AJ acted like she didn't realize the ring was still on her finger. All the while, I glared at her. I knew the little psychopath put it on during the match.

"You, AJ Lee, dared to intentionally injure my daughter?" Dad said angrily.

AJ cowered. I struggled to stay in character. I wanted to laugh maniacally like she usually did. Instead, I looked at the ramp and saw Dean and Seth struggling against Kane. Roman was too, but I could tell he was only doing it for the sake of appearances.

"I- I, uh, I didn't realize, um, I didn't realize it was on, Mr. Undertaker," AJ stammered out.

I saw the lie. Dad saw the lie. His features of anger turned to rage. He turned to me and gave me his signature thumb across the throat, signaling for me to finish her. Then he left the ring. As he did, The Shield broke past Kane. To keep them out of the ring, Dad raised his hands and brought them down hard. The apron caught fire. Nobody was getting in or out of that ring, with the exception of me if I wanted to, until they came and put the fire out.

With The Shield stuck outside of the ring and AJ having nowhere to run, I grabbed AJ and chokeslammed her. Before she could recover, I grabbed her again, and set her up for a Tombstone Piledriver. I set her up the way Dad did when he finished a match and left her center ring. Then I went to the ropes, and climbed out through the flames, joining my father and "uncle" Kane as we exited to Dad's music.

**A/N Tell me what you think so far. I'd really like to know!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven: Face or Heel**

The next six months nothing really changed except my tag team partners. That night on Raw, I broke Dean Ambrose's nose and AJ left me needing three stitches on the corner of my left eye. From there, the WWE Universe just ate up the feud between me, AJ and The Shield. Sometimes I was partnered with Oscar, John and Stephen, who were involved in the original brawl on Raw. Sometimes, as a special treat, Stephanie and Paul would book a match between the Family of Destruction, AJ and The Shield.

My eye and Dean's nose had long since healed, but Jonathan and Colby hadn't stopped torturing me at any opportunity they could find. I tried to minimize those opportunities. Instead of risking being anywhere alone, I started spending more time with the other wrestlers. When we would book our hotels, I started sharing a suite with Stephen so I wouldn't have to be alone. He didn't push me for answers, but he knew something was wrong when I asked him if we could do it and he agreed without answers, which I was eternally grateful for.

The Usos and me started hanging out more outside of work, sometimes with Joshua, aka Jey, double dating with Jonathan, aka Jimmy, and his wife Trinity, aka Naomi, who was now back on the road with us. There was nothing serious with Josh and me. We were friends and I doubled with him so he didn't feel like a third wheel to his brother and sister-in-law. We had fun together. When I got to hang out with the three of them I almost felt like a normal person, at least normal for a person who hid in plain sight and nobody really knew.

Finally, things were coming to a head. The annual Hell in a Cell pay per view was coming up and The Shield and AJ were booked in a match versus The Family of Destruction. I was relieved for the match. While I hated having to deal with the four of them, The Family of Destruction had been booked in a few matches against The Wyatt Family because of Kane's issues with them. I didn't like the way those three looked at me and I had a suspicion that Bray saw more of me than others on the roster so I actively avoided Windham Lawrence Rotunda, aka Bray, Jon Huber, aka Luke Harper, and Joseph Ruud, aka Erick Rowan, like they had the plague.

The stipulations for the match between the Hell in a Cell match between AJ and The Shield versus The Family of Destruction were steep for AJ. Stephanie and Paul hadn't forgotten her intentional injury to my eye, especially since I suffered a broken rib at her hands, or more accurately her feet, a month later, when she decided to kick me in my ribs until I couldn't breathe. If she pinned me, she became the new Diva's Champion. If I pinned her, she was fired. If any of the guys pinned each other, my title stayed around my waist and I was stuck with AJ for a while longer. We knew that AJ wasn't supposed to get my title, but I wasn't supposed to pin her either. However, beyond that, I wasn't holding out on anything going the way it was supposed to. It was a live event after all and whatever happened, the WWE would be expected to uphold. I was wary of the match. I didn't trust AJ, Dean or Seth. I wasn't even sure if I could trust Roman.

In the back before the match, I was hanging out with Jonathan and Joshua doing warm-ups. They were defending the Tag Team title against the Rhodes Brothers that night. After a while we started joking around and Jonathan grabbed me from behind while Joshua started to tickle me. I panicked and started hitting the boys. My father came running to break it up and when I looked at what I did I freaked out more.

"I'm so sorry Jon. Josh. I'm sorry," I said, trying not to start crying as I ran off.

I could hear the boys and my father calling after me, but I ignored them. Joe was in the doorway of the warm-up gym and had seen everything. I didn't care. I pushed past him and kept running. I locked myself in the bathroom until I could think straight and then I stayed in the women's locker room away from everyone until it was time for my match.

"Cassie, Morgana is up in three minutes. We need you up at the gorilla position with Undertaker and Kane," one of the stage crew members, Rodney said peeking his head into the locker room.

"Thanks, Rodney. I'm coming right now," I replied, getting up and following him out.

Ready or not, the time was now. We were headlining Hell in a Cell. Our match was the main event, the match being pushed above all the others. I knew that as I was walking to the gorilla position, John Cena was in the ring with Sheamus in a title match for the WWE Championship. When I got to the gorilla position Dad and Glenn both looked at me with concern in their eyes. Word had spread about my freaking out in the warm-up gym. I ignored their looks and just crouched getting myself ready for the match.

AJ entered with The Shield from the audience. I heard the telltale sign that The Shield was on the move as Lillian announced them. _"Sierra. Hotel. India. Echo. Lima. Delta."_ I tried not to think of what could go wrong that night as I waited my turn to enter with Dad and Glenn. After another two minutes, the music changed and Dad's music started. I stood up and entered at Dad's left side with Kane at his right. Lillian announced us as we walked down the ramp to the cell. Once we were inside, the referees on the outside locked it. Nobody would interfere from the outside.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, the following is a handicap match with special stipulations. If AJ Lee pins Diva's Champion Morgana, she will become the new WWE Diva's Champion. If Diva's Champion Morgana number one contender AJ Lee, AJ Lee will be fired from the WWE. If neither Diva gets a pinfall or submission in this match, the Diva's Championship will stay with Morgana."

My belt had been taken by one of the referees on the outside of the ring on the way in to make sure it wasn't used as a weapon inside the cell. It would be given back to me, if AJ didn't go off-script, at the end of the match. I wasn't sure I'd get the belt back.

The referee inside the cell with us called for the match to start. AJ and I started the match, unlike the first time The Family of Destruction fought the other four. The first thing AJ tried to do was an elbow to my nose. I grabbed her and performed a swinging neckbreaker. While she was down, I kicked her in her rib cage a few times like she had done to me when she broke my ribs. Seth Rollins jumped into the ring and knocked me backwards towards the corner, away from her. Dad entered the ring at that moment and gave Seth a Chokeslam from Hell out of the ring. Seth didn't get back up. He looked at me for confirmation that I was okay. I stood up and nodded.

I went back to AJ and went for the cover, but she kicked out at two. AJ performed an Irish Whip on me and then a running bulldog. She tried to pin me, but I kicked out at one, pushing her so hard that she flew halfway across the ring. When I stood up, I grabbed her and put her into the cross-arm breaker submission hold. I didn't think she would tap out. We were close to the ropes. It was too soon for the match to end. She didn't go for the ropes. Instead, Dean, with his steel-toed boots kicked me right in the ribcage where she had broken my rib just a few months earlier.

I couldn't breathe. I started seeing spots in my vision. AJ tried to capitalize on Dean's interference. She rolled me onto my back and covered me for the three-count. I somehow managed to kick out just before the referee hit the mat the third time, but I couldn't make myself move. AJ went to start kicking me again. After she kicked me in my ribs five more times I grabbed her ankle and twisted sharply then pushed her away. She screamed in pain and fell to the mat. I seized the opportunity. Slowly I started making my way to the corner, where Dad and Kane were.

I barely tagged Dad before Dean grabbed me by my ankle and dragged me back to the middle of the ring, kicking me. He didn't see the tag. Dad grabbed Dean by his throat and Seth and Roman jumped in trying to save him. Kane jumped into the ring to help Dad. I stayed a crumpled mess on the mat, pulling myself to a corner, still not able to breathe right. Kane Tombstoned Roman as Dean went for a Last Ride. Seth came to the corner and started kicking at me. AJ was still in the other corner holding her ankle. It was getting harder to breathe. Dad and Kane were dealing with Dean who was trying to fight them both.

"Hey Seth!" I heard someone yell.

Seth stopped kicking me for a minute and the next thing I knew he crumpled to the floor and Jerry Lawler started yelling.

"ROMAN REIGNS JUST SUPERMAN PUNCHED SETH ROLLINS! ROMAN REIGNS HAS TURNED ON SETH ROLLINS!"

I couldn't believe it, but I was looking at Seth unconscious at my feet. Dad took the distraction to Tombstone Dean and pin him. AJ tried to come after Roman and me, but Kane grabbed her and just shook his head no. Roman climbed out of the ring and then pulled me into his arms. I started shaking and hyperventilating.

"It's okay, Cassie," he said to me soothingly.

"What the hell are you doing, Roman?" I asked between my ragged breathing as I shook uncontrollably in his arms.

"Not Roman. Joe," was all he said as he carried me out of the cell and into the back room for the trainers to take care of me.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve: Confusion Reigns**

When Joe Anoa'i put me down in medical, they rushed him out so they could start taking my ring attire off. Thankfully, that meant when Dad and Glenn came to the back to check on me, they would also be kept out. This was good because not only did I have a lot on my mind, but I had cuts on my ribs I didn't want anyone to see. When Dr. Fernandez, the doctor that travelled with us saw the cuts, he completely cleared the room.

"Cassie, those aren't from the match. What are they from?" he asked me.

"It's nothing. Please don't include it in your report, Doc," I pleaded with him.

"Cassie, did you do that to yourself?"

I didn't answer him, which to him was answer enough. He pulled out gauze and antiseptic to start cleaning up the cuts I had made when I ran away from Jonathan and Joshua. It stung, but I wasn't going to complain. I was too busy hoping he wouldn't tell anyone.

"Why would you do that to yourself, Cassie?"

"I'm okay. I just freaked out," I said to him. "Do they need to be stitched?"

"No, they're not that deep. They're deep, but stitches won't be necessary."

"What about my ribs? Are they broken again?" 

"I'll need to send you for x-rays, but they're not looking good. I think they might be, especially since you're still having trouble breathing. I'm gonna take you to the hospital myself," he said. "Cassie, I think you should see a therapist."

"I don't need one. I'll be fine. I've dealt with this before on my own."

"Apparently not," he said.

"I'll be fine, Doc. I promise. Just please don't put this in your report."

He dropped his head in defeat. The cuts didn't require stitches, weren't work related, and wouldn't really affect my performance. There was no real need to report it.

"I won't, but I don't want to find you covered in these cuts the next time I see you."

"I'll do my best to stop. Promise."

"That will have to be enough," he said to me as he handed me a zip-up hoodie. "Put this on and let's go to the hospital."

I did as I was told and zipped the hoodie up as he helped me up and towards the exit of the medical suite. When we got outside he saved me from having to explain anything by telling Dad, Glenn and Joe he was taking me to the hospital for x-rays and he would bring me back to the hotel later unless the hospital kept me overnight, in which case he'd call Dad to meet me. I stayed silent the entire way to the hospital.

My thoughts were still reeling over what Joe had done. He had been one of the most dominant forces in the WWE for two years with The Shield and he had just gone off-script and thrown it away for me. But just a few months ago, he had put me in the hospital himself. I couldn't understand which way was up with him. Why would he do that for me? Jonathan and Colby would be out for his blood as much as they were out for mine now. Could he handle that?

I was so far lost in my thoughts that I didn't pay any attention as they did the x-rays. I didn't start paying attention until Dad walked into my hospital room. That's when the alarms started blaring in my head.

"Dad, what are you doing here?"

"You need to stay overnight. I'm not leaving you here alone and Dr. Fernandez has an entire roster of Superstars and Divas to check on."

I had had an oxygen tube in my nose since I got out of x-ray and still I felt like I wasn't getting enough air.

"Your ribs are broken. Two of them pierced your left lung. That's why you feel like you're not getting enough air. You're down for two weeks, since you heal faster than most people," he said as he came over and hugged me before sitting next to me and taking my hand. "Cassie, why did you lie to me?"

"About what, Dad?"

"The cutting. You promised you'd try to stop. How often have you been doing it?"

I looked down at the hospital gown they had changed me to before I went for x-rays. There was blood on it. I sighed.

"This is only the fourth time since you found out. I'm trying, Dad."

"When did you do this?"

"Before our match, when I ran off on everyone. I locked myself in the bathroom and cut myself to help calm down."

"What set you off? Rikishi's boys would never hurt you. You know that. I know that. But something in you snapped and you attacked them. What's going on?"

"Nothing. It's nothing, Dad."

I couldn't look my father in the eye. How could I look him in the eye and tell him, while trying to convince him I could handle being part of the WWE that I was raped by a couple of Superstars who want to completely control me? There was no way to do it.

"Cassidy, talk to me, please."

"I'll be okay. I slipped up. I'll get it together and stop again. I promise I'm trying."

We fell into an awkward silence after that and I fell back into my state of turmoil. My head was reeling. Dad suspected something was wrong, and there was something very, very wrong with me. Then I still couldn't wrap my head around what Joe had done for me.

I fell asleep with Dad at my side and my mind racing. The only reason I fell asleep was because a nurse came in and gave me something to put me to sleep. In my dreams, I kept reliving the Hell in a Cell match. My mind couldn't seem to wrap around Joe's betrayal of his brethren in The Shield any more on a subconscious level than it could on a conscious level.

Three days after Hell in a Cell the doctors felt I was breathing enough on my own to let me go home. I still had eleven days off, so when I was discharged, I booked a flight back to Texas. I went home. Dad couldn't come with me. After the heat of the Hell in a Cell match, Undertaker and Kane were being booked on more matches versus Seth and Dean. I was sad when I had to say good-bye to him at the airport, but relieved to just be getting away from everything else for a few more days.

When I got off the plane and grabbed by bags from baggage claim I was gonna catch a cab, but I was shocked to find none other than step-monster number three waiting in passenger pick-up. Michelle McCool was waiting for me with baby sister Kaia.

"Cassie, it's been awhile," she said smiling at me in her fake way.

"What are you doing here, Michelle?" I said not looking at her and picking Kaia up right away.

"Your father asked me to pick you up and bring you to your place."

"You didn't have to. I would've caught a cab," I said snuggling my sister who was now a little over a year old.

"It's alright. Come on," she said as she grabbed my bags and I put Kaia back in her stroller.

I followed her to her SUV and put Kaia in her carseat as Michelle put my bags in the back. After making sure my sister was nice and secure I climbed into the passenger seat next to Michelle. I was now confused about yet another thing in my life. Why was she being nice to me? Did Dad tell her about everything that happened the night of Hell in a Cell?

"Thanks for the lift, Michelle," I said, trying to be polite.

"It's not a problem. You are family after all."

I tried not to scream. Michelle was only thirteen years older than me. She was barely old enough to babysit me when I was born and now she was married to my Dad. I kept quiet for the rest of the ride because I didn't trust myself not to insult Michelle. When she dropped me off I called Dad to let him know I was home and locked myself in my bedroom, trying to work out the riddle that was my life, the riddle of Roman Reigns.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen: Allegiance**

I met up with the WWE the night before Raw in mid-November and the only people who knew I was back were Stephanie McMahon, Paul Levesque and Stephen Farrelly. I had to let Stephanie and Paul know that the doctors in Texas cleared me to return to work after doing an MRI on my left lung to make sure that the puncture from my rib had healed. Stephen had gotten a two room suite and picked me up at the airport when I got to town.

"How are ya feelin', Cassie?" Stephen asked as he put my bags in the trunk of his rental car.

"Better. My ribs are sore, but the docs say I'm doing a lot better. _And_ I can breathe normally again, so I guess I'm doing a lot better."

"That's great," he said as we got into the car. "We were all worried about ya."

I felt guilty. Part of me wondered how much of the problem with AJ, Jonathan and Colby I had brought on myself. I hadn't exactly been the easiest person around them in the last eight months.

"I didn't mean to worry any of you."

"Everyone heard about ya havin' issues before ya match and then ya got hurt. We wanted to make sure ya were okay."

"Everyone knows about what happened in the gym?"

He nodded.

"I was hoping that wouldn't get around."

"What did happen?"

"I had a panic attack. I took it out on Jon and Josh. I feel terrible about it."

"The boys are alright, Lassie. More worried about how ya doin'."

I knew I would have to face Jon and Josh, but I was scared. Stephen rambled catching me up on what had been going on off-camera since I had been gone. I knew on-camera Roman Reigns had officially left The Shield. In fact, he challenged Big E for the Intercontinental Championship the Friday after Hell in a Cell and became the new champion. He defended the title on Raw and Main Event the following week against first Big E than Dolph Ziggler. Things were looking up for him on-camera.

Off-camera, things were different. Jonathan and Colby had been giving Joe a really hard time. They had gotten into two fist fights in the locker room since Hell in a Cell, not counting the brawl between the three of them when Colby woke up from the Superman Punch. They were making his life a living hell. I felt guilty because he had turned on them for me. His life was easy before he made that choice.

The other Superstars still wouldn't trust Joe too much. Roman Reigns had made a lot of enemies in the locker room and most of the Superstars were trying to figure out if it was the character or him. Since he usually spent his time around Jonathan and Colby, most of the Superstars didn't get to know the real Joe, and therefore judged him as Roman.

The next night on Raw I was at ringside for the Diva's Championship number one contender's match to see who I would face at Survivor Series. The match was Brie Bella versus Alicia Fox. I was bored. I had nothing against either Diva, but after all the drama of the matches between me and AJ, neither of these Divas had the fire that I was used to. I had been hoping to defend the title against Natalya. Brie Bella had just pinned Alicia Fox and I got up and entered the ring, looking bored and unimpressed. She got in my face as any number one contender would. Then I heard it.

"_Sierra. Hotel. India. Echo. Lima. Delta."_

"Shit," I muttered under my breath as I turned to the audience.

Sure enough, AJ Lee was coming down the aisle accompanied by Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose. Gone were the stereotypical AJ pink. Now, she was wearing Shield black. Brie looked from me to the three of them before she muttered sorry under her breath and rolled out of the ring, leaving me to face all three on my own. It was better that way.

I moved to the center of the ring, watching as they climbed over the barricade and made their way onto the apron. My anxiety levels were rising as I watched Dean, mic in hand, climb into the ring.

"So the demon spawn returns," he said.

I just glared at him. He wasn't worth a reply.

"So what rock have you been hiding under, Morgana?" Seth asked.

Meanwhile, AJ was sitting on the ropes bouncing up and down behind them. I kept a close eye on Seth and Dean and caught a look between the two that I didn't like. Half a second later, Seth rushed me and both he and Dean started hitting me with AJ standing over us laughing.

The crowd started going nuts. They were making a lot of noise, but I knew it wasn't about what Dean and Seth were doing to me. I wasn't sure what it was until suddenly a figure in black flew over me, knocking Dean to the mat. AJ started screaming as Seth grabbed her and pulled her with him out of the ring. It took me a minute, but I finally sat up and got a look at what was going on in the ring around me.

In the corner by the ringpost, Roman Reigns had Dean Ambrose pinned to the mat punching him repeatedly. Dean wasn't really moving. I pulled Roman off of Dean and we stood over him in the ring.

"THE INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPION ROMAN REIGNS HAS JUST BEATEN DEAN AMBROSE INTO UNCONSCIOUSNESS!" Jerry Lawler was yelling in the background.

I put my hand on Roman's forearm, trying to get through the haze of rage that was still in his eyes and ignoring the pain in my ribs. My touch may have gotten through to him because he stopped staring at the corner at the unmoving Dean Ambrose and looked down into my eyes. He put his hand to my cheek, wiping the bit of blood that was dripping from my mouth. What happened next is something I wouldn't have believed myself if I hadn't seen the replays or heard Jerry Lawler yelling about it.

"ROMAN REIGNS HAS JUST KISSED MORGANA! ROMAN REIGNS EX-MEMBER OF THE SHIELD HAS JUST KISSED MORGANA, DAUGHTER OF THE UNDERTAKER!"


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen: Survivor Series**

The next few weeks the writers had Dad escorting me to my matches and me escorting him to his for Morgana's "safety." They also brought about a feud between Undertaker and Roman Reigns who had dared to kiss Morgana in-ring. I hadn't seen much of Joe outside of work and Dad kept pushing me for answers about him. He kept pushing that I had planned with Joe to start the in-ring romance, which was the farthest from the truth, but without him knowing what I had gone through he wouldn't know that.

Survivor Series was a big event for me. It was my first title defense that wasn't against AJ Lee and I wouldn't have to face any member of The Shield. I got Dad to help me convince Stephanie and Paul that he would stay backstage for my match and come out only if Dean and Seth showed up with AJ causing trouble. Brie was intimidated by Dad and I didn't blame her. I liked Brie outside of the ring and I didn't want to make the match any more awkward than it needed to be.

Brie entered the ring first after Dean Ambrose's match against Rey Mysterio for the United States Championship, which he won back after several months. Nikki escorted her to the ring and was going to be on commentary with JBL, Michael Cole, and Jerry Lawler. I was in the gorilla position waiting to go out when Dad came over to me.

"Be careful, Cassie. Things don't feel right tonight."

"I know, Dad. Dean, Seth, and AJ have been too quiet for the last week. They're up to something."

Before either of us could say anything else, my entrance music started and I had to go out.

The match started and I noticed that Brie looked conflicted when the bell rang. We went back and forth for a while. She performed a whip on me and followed it up with a running knee, which left me seeing spots since she hit me in my temple. From there she grabbed me by my hair and performed a hair-pull mat slam slamming me into the mat, head first.

"_Sierra. Hotel. India. Echo. Lima. Delta. The Shield."_

Dean, Seth and AJ came running from the audience, jumping the barricade. I struggled to get up and focus my eyesight. Nikki and AJ started fighting outside the ring. She seemed angry that the three had intruded on her sister's championship match. If they touched me, Brie would lose by disqualification. I looked at Brie and she didn't seem surprised to see them.

As Dean ran to the opposite side of the ring, he distracted the referee. I heard the crowd go wild, and knew that Dad was coming. Seth did a double missile kick from the top rope and rolled out of the ring before the ref saw him. Brie capitalized on his attack as the ref turned back to us and rolled me up for the three count. She stole my championship!

AJ was still fighting with Nikki. Dean was grabbed by Dad. I didn't realize that Roman had come out and grabbed Seth. And before Brie could run away with my belt I grabbed her and Tombstoned her. When she tried to get up, I chokeslammed her. Dad was beating Dean mercilessly and Seth was unconscious outside the ring. Nikki realized that I was beating her sister and knocked AJ aside, coming to Brie's aid. Roman, however, grabbed AJ. He didn't attack her, just restrained her and dragged her to the ring for me.

"You attacked Brie, Morgana!" Nikki yelled at me.

"She was in this with The Shield, Nikki."

"She would never. Brie would never work with The Shield and AJ," she said furiously.

"Ask her."

I turned to AJ, who was half-smirking, half-crying in Roman's grip and punched her in the face so hard that she crumpled to the mat. With that, I turned and left the ring, knowing that I would get my title back. Roman and Dad followed me backstage, where I was led to medical to be checked in case I had a concussion. Being cleared, I was sent to Stephanie, who promised me my re-match the following night at Raw with stipulations that if AJ or The Shield interfered for Brie the belt defaults to me.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter Fifteen: Denise**

I was furious going into my rematch on Raw and ended the match in record timing, using one of Dad's submissions. Yeah, I used a lot of Dad's moves, but I was his daughter and I was still learning. When Brie went to grab me, I grabbed her arm and locked her into the Hell's Gate submission. I held the submission until I felt her go limp in my grip.

It was Daniel Bryan who came out and forced me to break the hold on Brie. Part of me felt bad. He loved her, that much I knew, but she had double-crossed me and I wasn't very forgiving of that. Still, he was a friend and it hurt to see him look at me with such contempt.

"How could you?!" he yelled at me.

"She needed to learn a lesson on loyalty," was all I said as I left the ring, noting that neither AJ nor the remaining members of The Shield were there to help Brie this time.

When I got backstage, Roman was in the gorilla position and I remembered he was in his first singles match against Seth Rollins since NXT after knocking him out at Survivor Series. I didn't know what to say to him, so I tried to walk away.

"So you're still just gonna ignore me?" he called after me.

I turned back to him.

"What do you want me to say to you?"

He walked over to me and took my hands in his. I flinched at his touch.

"I would never hurt you, Cassie. Why don't you believe me? What else do I need to do to show you that?"

Before I could answer him, his music started and he had to go out for his match.

I showered, changed, and left the arena, opting to go back to my hotel before Raw ended, figuring I'd have some time to sort through my thoughts. Things couldn't have been farther from what I thought they'd be. When I went to the parking lot the Divas and Superstars were parked in somebody came up behind me and something pricked me in my back. My thoughts started getting fuzzy and I couldn't stand up on my own anymore.

"That's right, bitch. You've been bad and it's time for another lesson," Jonathan Good said in my ear as he helped me into his car.

He put the seatbelt on me and I was too groggy to fight him or take it off. After closing my door, he climbed into the driver's seat and drove off. I don't know where he took me, some motel in the middle of nowhere. He carried me into the room, and stripped me, the way Colby had done the first time. The difference from last time was he handcuffed me to the bed.

Colby showed up a little while later and they took their turns with me, each brutalizing me in every way they could imagine. While they did it, I remember snippets of them telling me it was all my fault. That Joe was their property and I shouldn't have taken him.

I was terrified, and for the first time since I was sixteen, I saw Denise.

"_Cassie, fight them," she said to me._

_I can't._ I thought.

"_You can. They don't know the extent of what you can truly do. You can get out of those cuffs."_

_My head is too fuzzy._

Denise came closer. I hated that she was seeing me like this. She touched my forehead and I could feel whatever Jonathan had injected me with leaving my system. I was feeling my power again, but I was feeling the urge to hurt myself just as strongly. Denise started flickering. Her draining the drugs was making her weaker.

_Denise stop. I'll be okay, now._

"_Get free. Get out of here, Cassie."_

I nodded as she faded out of the room. I focused on the handcuffs and started letting the fire within me heat the metal to a point that was beyond what any normal person could handle. Thank the gods I wasn't normal. The metal started to get weak, melting from the raised temperature. I ignored what Colby and Jonathan were doing to me, which wasn't easy, as I focused and put more of my energy into melting the metal faster. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, I felt the metal melt enough that I could break it.

Jonathan and Colby were too shocked that I had broken free. I took advantage of their shock and started using my powers on them. Looking at Jonathan, I pulled the air out of his lungs until he couldn't breathe and collapsed unconscious. Before Colby could escape, I threw him into a wall with my mind and watched him slump to the floor unconscious.

Shaking, I got dressed and went to the front desk, where I asked the clerk to call a cab to get me back to the arena so I could get my rental car. When I got to the hotel, I rented my own room, leaving a message for Stephen at the front desk that I was there and needed some time to think for the night. Locking myself in my room, I went into the bathroom and pulled out the razor that I had and started slicing at my ribs, watching as my skin split and the blood cascaded down my body.

I cut myself over and over, more than I had since I was a teenager. I stretched out in the bathtub and just watched as I bled as I cut myself more. Part of me knew I was going too far, but I couldn't bring myself stop. Even as my vision started getting spotty, I couldn't bring myself to do anything. I just lay in the tub and watched the blood flow as my vision went dark. The last thing I thought I saw was Denise standing over me.

"_I'll get help, Cassie." _

Denise's POV:

Cassie wouldn't take help because she wouldn't tell anyone what she was going through. She needed help because she was going too far. I had to die, but she didn't have to. It wasn't her time. I knew if Mark realized how far gone she was, he'd lock her up and throw away the key, not in an institution, but in his own home, treating Cassie like a toddler for the rest of her life. Glenn would go to Mark if I went to him. They were two of the only people I knew could see me without trouble because I knew they both had necromantic powers like Cassie. I decided to take my chances and hoped I didn't kill him.

He was sitting on his bed in his hotel room, with his feet up, leaning against the headboard. The TV was on, but he wasn't really paying any mind to it. It was now or never.

"Joe," I said without appearing to him.

He looked around nervous.

"Who's there? Who are you?"

I appeared to him, hoping he didn't faint. The last thing I wanted to do was hurt Sika's son.

"I'm Denise Hickenbottom. Shawn Michael's daughter. I need your help. Cassie needs your help."

"Cassie? What's wrong with her?" he asked me scared, not even concerned with the ghost in his hotel room.

"Go to her. The bathroom. Take care of her. Don't tell anyone. Please help her. Don't let her die."

I dropped Cassie's room keycard on his floor and disappeared. I had no more energy to stay.

Roman's POV:

Was there really just a ghost in my room? If there was then Cassie was in trouble. I grabbed the keycard Denise dropped and ran out of the room to the room number marked on the envelope, letting myself in. Going into the bathroom, I found Cassie unconscious in the tub, wearing only her bra and panties. She was bleeding from her ribs and stomach. There was a razor blade in her hand.

"Oh Cassie, what did you do, Baby Girl?" I asked her.

I picked her up and put her on the bathroom floor. Grabbing her bag, I saw she had first aid supplies and started cleaning the cuts up and putting pressure with gauze pads to stop the bleeding. After I cleaned her up completely, I found her pajamas, but decided they were too close fitting, so I found an old t-shirt that must have been her father's. I pulled it on over her and after it was on, I unhooked her bra, pulling it off through her shirt sleeves, in a way that I wouldn't see any part of her naked. I put a pair of shorts on her and put her in her bed, pulling the covers up to her neck.

Leaving her to sleep, I went back to her bathroom. I cleaned up the blood in the tub and the mess on the floor from where I had to clean her up. Then I grabbed the razor blade I found in her hand and threw it in the garbage with all the other mess I cleaned up. I went into the hallway and threw it out.

Coming back into her room, I pulled up a chair next to her bed and just watched her as she slept. She may not have trusted me, but I wasn't going to hurt her and I wasn't going to let her die. Somebody needed to make sure she was okay and, for whatever reasons, Denise chose me to be that person.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter Sixteen: Cover-up**

Roman's POV:

The following day, we were all supposed to check-out of the hotel. Cassie still hadn't woken up, so I went to the front desk and got a two room suite for us and moved her and her things before moving my things. I had just checked both of our rooms out when there was a knock on the door of the suite. Stephen was on the other side.

"Where's Cassie, Fella?" he asked me suspiciously.

"She's sleeping. She doesn't feel well," I lied, remembering Denise's plea not to tell anyone what she'd done.

"I want ta see her. Now."

I sighed. I should have figured he wouldn't believe me. Stepping back I let him into the suite.

"I'll show you she's sleeping, but please just let her sleep. She had a rough night," I said to him as I showed him to her room.

I opened the door to her room and showed him that she was sleeping soundly in bed. He watched her for a few minutes before he walked closer and kissed her forehead. Then he walked back towards me, pushing me lightly out of her room, closing the door behind us.

"How did she end up in a room with ya, Fella?"

"I ran into her last night and saw she wasn't feeling well. I stayed with her all night, watching her sleep and when I realized she wasn't up to traveling, I checked us out of our rooms and into this suite so I could stay with her until she feels better."

It wasn't the truth, but again, I didn't think he knew that Cassie was hurting herself.

"I've been watching her and ya know it. Why didn't ya bring her ta me?"

"I didn't think about it. I just put her to bed and pulled a chair next to her to watch her as she slept to make sure she was okay."

"Ya expect me ta believe ya stayed in a chair next ta her and didn't get in her bed once?"

"I _didn't_ get in her bed," I growled at him. "She wasn't well. I put her to bed and stayed at her side to make sure she was okay all night. End of story."

"I'll find out from her. If she tells me ya did anything, ya'll regret being born, Fella," he said to me as he left the room.

I sighed. I hated that nobody would believe that I wasn't Roman and I wasn't an asshole like he was when he was part of The Shield. If I ever hurt a woman my family would kill me. They raised me better than that. No, we weren't saints, we had our skeletons, but thankfully that wasn't one of them.

Pulling my cell phone out of my pocket, I dialed Paul Levesque. He picked up on the third ring.

"Joe. What can I do for you, Kid?"

"I need a few days off. I know I was supposed to be at the taping of Main Event and Smackdown for this week, but something came up and I can't," I told him.

"Are you okay?"

"I am, but Cassie's sick. I've been with her since last night and I don't want to leave her. She doesn't seem so great."

"Does she need to go to the hospital?"

"I don't think so, but if she does I'll let you know. Can I get the few days? I've moved the two of us into a different suite at the hotel not really thinking I should have called you first."

"Take the few days. Let me know how she's doing. Does her dad know?"

"No. She doesn't want to make a big deal of it."

"I'll let him know she's okay but just not feeling well. Keep me updated, Joe."

"I will, Paul. Thanks," I was about to hang up when I realized he could answer my question. "Paul I have an off-topic question that I hope you don't get upset about."

"What is it, Kid?"

"Did Shawn Michaels have a daughter named Denise?"

The line was quiet for a minute.

"Yes. She was kept out of the media. She was sick. Heart trouble. She died nine years ago. How do you know about her?"

I didn't know what to say to him.

_Tell him I said hello and that Thor's cross on his ass is still too obvious._ I heard in my head.

"She said Thor's cross is too obvious, whatever that means. And hi."

"When did you see her?"

"She's the one who told me Cassie was feeling sick last night, Paul. It freaked me out. I asked about her because part of me still thought I was going crazy."

"Take all the time you need. You and Cassie come see me when she's better."

"Thanks, Paul."

"No problem, Kid. Bye."

He got off the phone and I went to check on Cassie. She was still sleeping soundly so I called for take-out, realizing I hadn't eaten since before Raw the night before. After I ate, I found her leaning against the doorjamb of her room.

"You shouldn't be standing up."

She looked like a ghost. Her skin was pale, almost as pale as the Morgana character. She didn't look strong enough to stand up on her own. I was worried she would fall, but worried she would freak out if I got too close. I didn't know what to do for her.

Cassie's POV:

When I woke up, I didn't know where I was. I didn't recognize the room. I knew that I didn't go back to Stephen's hotel room because he would have known that something was wrong. But my things were here. Quietly I went to the bedroom door and opened it. I watched him for a minute until he finally noticed me.

"You shouldn't be standing up," he said to me.

He just stared at me for a minute. It left me wondering how bad I looked. I felt like hell, like I had wrapped myself in barbed wire and slept in it. I wrapped my arms around my ribs and I could feel the bandages and I started remembering what I had done.

"How did I end up in this suite with you?"

"I found you last night, Cassie. Are you okay?"

"How did you find me, Joe? I was in my hotel room alone."

He looked down at his feet.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Try me."

"Denise Hickenbottom dropped your hotel room key in my room when she told me you were in trouble."

Denise. Denise had gone to the one person who left me more conflicted than my own father.

"DENISE HICKENBOTTOM YOU GET YOUR TRANSPARENT ASS DOWN HERE RIGHT NOW!" I started shouting to the ceiling of the suite.

After a minute, she appeared halfway between Joe and me.

"You bellowed, Cassie?"

"Why would you go to him?"

"You needed help."

"But _Roman Reigns_?! Joe Anoa'i?! Why him?"

"Because he genuinely just wants to be there for you, Cassie."

"He put me in the hospital by his own choice, Denise!"

"I made a mistake, Cassie," Joe broke into my argument with Denise, finding his voice.

"Cassie, stop this! You went too far," Denise said.

"I would be fine."

"CASSIDY! YOU ALMOST JOINED ME LAST NIGHT!" Denise yelled at me.

I stopped for a minute.

"What?" I asked her.

"The amount of blood you lost. You were still bleeding when Joe found you. If he hadn't stopped the bleeding, you would have bled to death in that tub last night. Alone," she said sadly.

I looked at the floor.

"Cassie, why did you hurt yourself?" Joe asked me.

I wouldn't answer him.

"Tell him Cassidy," Denise said.

"No," I said to her.

"I will," she replied.

"Not if I make you leave," I threatened.

"You won't do that to me after I saved you twice last night."

My head snapped up to look at her. Joe looked at my dead friend confused.

"Twice?" Joe asked.

"Twice," Denise confirmed.

"Cassie, what happened last night?" he asked me, coming closer to me, but only as far as where Denise stood.

"No," was all I would say.

"Cassie, I will tell him," Denise said.

"I will banish you, Denise. You will never regain the energy to walk the earth again. You'll never see Shawn or Paul again."

She looked at me in shock.

"You wouldn't do that to me."

"Stay out of this, Denise."

She looked at Joe. "I'm sorry. I can't take the risk," she said as she faded away, giving me a hurt look as she did.

Joe walked a few steps closer to me.

"Don't come any closer, please," I said to him.

"What happened? Please, I just want to help you."

"We need to get going. We have the appearances for Main Event and Smackdown to get to."

"No. We don't. I called Paul and told him you were sick and that I wanted to stay with you. I told him I found you not feeling well last night and had stayed with you and just wanted to stay and make sure you were okay. He said we could take a few days off and to go see him when you were better."

I groaned. Why did Paul want to see us?

"What else did you say to him?"

"I asked about Denise."

"That's why he wants to see us. He probably thinks I'm half-dead right now!"

"Apparently you were, Cassie. What the hell is going on?"

I started losing my temper. I couldn't talk to him about all of this. The plant next to me caught fire. He reacted quickly and grabbed the ice bucket and dumped water on it to put it out.

"Did you do that?!" he asked me with a look of shock on his face.

I dropped to the floor. The fire drained the last of my energy from me. Still sitting on the floor, I looked at him and the fight drained from me.

"Yes."

"How?!"

"I have supernatural abilities. It's why my father wanted me to quit when I joined the WWE. He was afraid I'd do what I just did and lose control."

"That's how you called Denise."

"Yes. I am a necromancer, telekinetic, pyrokinetic, can control all the elements, really, and a healer."

"You're a healer?"

"Yes. It's why I healed from the punctured lung so quickly," I said, my breathing coming rapidly.

The loss of control with the fire had opened the cuts on my body again. I could feel them starting to bleed through the bandages.

"What's wrong?" Joe asked.

"Where are my medical supplies?"

"Your bag. Why?"

"The cuts are about to bleed through the bandages. They just reopened."

"How?" Joe asked as he rushed to my side, picking me up and putting me on the table of the suite before going to get my medical supplies.

He only pulled my shirt up high enough to get to my cuts. Taking the scissors, he cut off the rolled gauze holding the gauze pads in place. I heard him gasp.

"I think you should get these stitched, Cassie."

"No. I'll be fine. Just clean them, please."

He shook his head and did what I asked. When he finished, he helped me sit back up on a chair and cleaned up the mess. Then he sat across the table from me. I was shaking, both from the loss of blood and from him having to touch me because I was too weak to clean my cuts myself.

"Why won't you get stitches?"

"I can heal this. I need time. And a steak."

"A steak?"

"Yes. A bloody steak. The iron helps me when I'm weak. It gives me an energy boost."

"I'll order one for you to be delivered, but will you tell me what's going on? This is the third time you've been bloody in front of me. What's going on, Cassie?"

I looked at my hands.

"It's nothing. I have issues. I'll be fine."

"Don't shut me out."

"You wouldn't understand."

"Not if you won't talk to me."

"I can't."

"Why?"

"I can't talk to anyone! I just can't! Please, just let it go!" I yelled dropping my head into my hands.

Joe got up and I could hear him in the other room ordering me food. When he came back he sat there in silence for a minute.

"I won't tell anyone what really happened, Cassie. Just please, try to trust me when I say I'm here for you. Try to open up to me. I want to help."

I looked at him and understood why Denise went to him.

"I don't know if I can. I'll try."

"I'll take it," he said. "By the way, you should probably call Stephen and your dad. Stephen was here this morning thinking I hurt you. Threatened to hurt me if you told him I did anything to you. Paul said he was gonna talk to your dad about you taking a few days off and staying with me."

I groaned about having to call Dad.

"Does anyone know what happened last night?"

"Only you, me, and Denise."

"It has to stay that way. Nobody can know what I did, Joe. Especially not my dad, Glenn, Paul, or Stephanie."

"What do you want to tell them?"

"Food poisoning. We'll tell them when I woke up today I told you I had food poisoning. Please?"

"You have food poisoning. Got it. When anyone asks why you were out this week, you had a nasty case of food poisoning."

"Thank you."

Maybe I could trust Joe if he was willing to help me cover up what I had done. I needed time to decide.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter Seventeen: Truth and Lies**

Six days and nine bouts of unconsciousness later, I was ready to return to work. It took a lot out of me to heal the cuts and recover from the blood loss. Denise was right about how far gone I was that night. Joe kept me stocked on bloody steaks and burgers. I lived on nothing but burgers and steaks for the week. Come Monday morning, Joe and I were sitting in Paul Levesque's office at the arena.

"Cassie, how are you feeling, Sweetie?" he asked me.

"I'm fine, Paul. I'm sorry if I worried you last week. But thanks for leaving Joe as my nurse. He's been a really big help the last few days getting me back on my feet."

"Thanks for taking such good care of Mark's girl, Joe," he said.

"I'm just glad she wasn't alone with how sick she got," Joe replied.

"So what exactly was wrong with you, Cassie?" Paul asked me.

I knew that he knew something serious happened, but he couldn't prove it. Even if Denise went to him after our fight, he couldn't prove that I was in worse shape than I was gonna admit to.

"Food poisoning. I went to a bar after I left the arena on Monday night and must've had one too many drinks because I didn't realize the burger I ordered tasted wrong. By the time I got back to the hotel I was feeling pretty sick."

"Food poisoning?" He asked with doubt in his voice.

"Food poisoning. Really screwed me up. I spent most of the last week sleeping."

"Joe, is there anything you want to tell me?" Paul asked Joe.

"No, she was running a high fever and throwing up. I spent most of last week holding her hair while she threw up when she wasn't sleeping."

He was sticking to the story. He said he would, but it was a relief to hear him actually do it.

"Okay. Joe, go get ready for tonight. Cassie, report to medical. I want you cleared before we put you out there."

I had a feeling he would do that. At that moment I was glad that Joe had helped me as I healed from my injuries. The cuts from last week were healed so much that they looked years old. Nobody would think they were only seven days old.

"Sure. Do I go now?" 

"Yes. Doctor Fernandez is waiting for you. He'll give you a physical and when he's done, he'll report back to me. Depending on what he says to me, I'll decide whether to allow you to work tonight or if you need another night or two off."

"Alright. Joe, walk me?"

We got up and left the office. When the door closed I pushed Joe against the wall. I got up on my toes and kissed him on his cheek.

"Thank you for helping me. For everything."

"No problem, Cassie. I'll do what I can for you."

He kissed me on my cheek and I flashed to the night he kissed me in the ring. I started to blush.

"Can I hold your hand, Cassie?"

He had finally realized I wasn't big on physical contact. He didn't get too close or try to touch me without permission, with the exception of the kiss on my cheek. I nodded and he took my hand in his. My hand swam in his, it was so much smaller than his. He took my gym bag and we walked to the medical suite in silence.

"Come see me in the gym when you're done?" he asked.

"Sure," I replied as I took my gym bag back from him.

I went inside and found Dr. Fernandez standing in the exam room with an exam gown on the exam table.

"Hey, Doc."

"Good morning, Cassie. I'm assuming Paul has told you he has asked me to perform a full physical?"

"Yeah, let's get started."

I took the exam gown and got changed and went back to the exam room and sat on the exam table. Doc Fernandez started poking me and checking me. Everything seemed fine. Then he asked me to open the gown. I took in inaudible breath and held it. This was the real test if my powers were functioning right after what happened. If he found the cuts, he'd tell Paul who would definitely tell Dad. I opened the gown and laid back as instructed.

His hands were cold as he probed the flesh around my ribs and stomach. I tried not to panic, but it wasn't easy. He had never given me a reason not to trust him, but The Usos hadn't either and I beat them up. I struggled to keep my breathing easy. If my breathing got ragged, he'd know something was wrong. Finally, he stopped touching me and let me sit up to close my exam gown.

"So tell me what happened," he said to me.

"Bad burger. I had too many drinks and didn't realize the burger was bad until I was puking with Joe Anoa'i holding my hair in the hotel."

"How long were you sick?"

"A few days."

"What were your symptoms?"

"Fever, puking, cold chills."

"Nothing else? Do you feel alright otherwise?"

"Yeah. I feel fine now, Doc."

"Have you hurt yourself?"

"Nope. You checked me. No fresh cuts."

"No. You have no fresh cuts. But are you okay? Did you replace cutting with binge drinking?"

Shit, I hadn't expected him to ask me that.

"No, Doc. I hardly ever drink. It's only once in a while that I drink that much. I've only been drunk twice in my life."

"You're only twenty one, Cassie."

"And I don't deny that I started drinking when I was fifteen. But I've only been drunk twice in my whole life," I said.

That was true. It just wasn't true that I was drunk on the night I was claiming to be drunk.

"Alright. I'll tell Paul that I see no reason not to let you return tonight medically," he said.

"Thank you. Can I go now?"

"Yes."

I changed back out of the exam gown and went to the gym, where I met up with Joe who noticed I was upset as soon as I got over to him.

"What's wrong?"

"Doc Fernandez started asking me if I hurt myself recently. When I gave him the food poisoning cover he asked me if I replaced cutting with binge drinking. What the fuck? Really? I've only been that drunk twice in my life and neither time has been since I've been on the roster."

"Doc Fernandez knows you hurt yourself?" Joe asked me.

I sighed. "Can we go get lunch and talk?"

"Sure. Let me shower and change," Joe said to me.

"I'll meet you my rental car?"

"Yeah. Give me fifteen minutes."

I went to my rental car and called Dad while I waited for Joe.

"Hey, Dad," I said when he picked up the phone.

"Hey, Cassie. How are you feeling?"

"I'm good. Doc Fernandez is telling Paul I'm clear to go back to work. I just finished a physical."

"That's good. I'm glad to hear you're better. You had me worried. You don't usually just disappear the way you did last week."

"Dad, can I ask you something?"

"Anything, Cassie."

"Do you think it would be a bad idea for me to tell anyone the truth about me? I mean not just my abilities, but my past. The cutting?"

"Where is this coming from, Cassie?"

"I told Joe Anoa'i about my powers last Tuesday, but we've avoided the subject like it never came up since. And now he asked me a question and I feel like I owe him the truth and the truth means telling him about the cutting."

"Why do you feel like you should tell him?"

"Because he's taken really good care of me this last week, Dad."

"Do you trust him?"

"I think so."

"Only you can decide if you can tell him these things. You need to feel if you trust him enough to tell him the truth."

"Thanks, Dad."

"Did that help?"

"I think so. I'll talk to you tomorrow, Dad. I have to go. I love you."

"I love you too, Cassie."

I got off the phone as Joe walked out of the arena and towards my car. One way or another, my relationship with him was about to change forever.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter Eighteen: Act of Trust**

When Joe got into my rental car we picked up food and went back to our hotel room, which I decided to stay with him in until I had a chance to work things out with Stephen. We ate mostly in silence, and I was grateful for that because I was trying to figure out how to talk to him. It was harder than I thought to just start talking about my secrets since they had been secrets for so long. It wasn't until after we'd finished eating and cleaned up that Joe finally broke the silence.

"You said you wanted to talk, Cassie. Talk to me."

I took a deep breath trying to figure this out. He had seemed content to ignore Denise being in his room and what I'd shown and told him before. He seemed okay knowing I didn't hurt myself that often since I told him I'd only recently done it less than ten times this year. Could he handle it?

"You've been asking me for months to trust you, to let you in."

"Yeah, I have. I want to be part of your life. I think the last few months have proven that, Cassie."

"It has, but you don't know the truth about me, Joe."

"Because you'd never let me in. Please let me in."

I took another deep breath.

"The power I showed you last week is nothing compared to what I can really do. I inherited powers from both of my parents and my dad has tried to keep me isolated for most of my life because he was afraid I would hurt someone if I got too emotional and lost control. After I kicked you out of my hotel room in Boston, I went home to Texas. My dad and I had a house there where I technically grew up when I wasn't on the road with him. He made modifications to the basement so that it was proofed against my powers. When I ran off from Boston, I went there and let an inferno rage around me for four days before he finally came to the basement after you called him."

He looked at me for a minute. First he was embarrassed that he realized that I knew he called my dad. Then he realized I had hurt myself before I left Boston and what happened when I used my powers when I was hurt.

"Cassie, those cuts in Boston reopened when I barely touched them and bled through your robe. What happened to you in Texas?"

"They reopened every day for four days. I can let an inferno burn around me without it hurting me or burning my clothes, but if I'm cut, those cuts will reopen. Dad took care of them when he finally came into the house."

"Why didn't you heal them?"

"I didn't want to. I wanted to feel the pain."

"Cassie, how long have you been hurting yourself?"

I looked at my hands for a minute before I looked back into his eyes.

"That night in Boston was the first night in five years that I'd done it. I used to do it when I was a teenager. That's why Doc Fernandez knows about the cutting. There was an incident where Dad came back to the hotel and I had to be hospitalized because I'd gone too far."

"So last week wasn't the first time things got that out of hand?"

I couldn't look him in the eyes as I answered him.

"No, it wasn't. And anyone who was in the company then knew what I'd done. John, Paul, Stephanie, Doc Fernandez, Glenn, Randy, anyone who has been in the company for more than six years knows I nearly killed myself. I didn't want people to know what I'd done now because I didn't want them looking at me weird."

"Cassie, you need help."

"They can't help me. Nobody can."

"Why can't anyone help you?"

"Because nobody knows the real me," I said looking up at him. "Dad has always been very strict about making sure that nobody knows about my powers. My powers scare him because my mother has no self-control and uses her powers recreationally. He thinks I'll do that because I've done it maybe a handful of times in my life. Even earlier this year Dad was telling me I shouldn't tell anyone the truth because he's worried that people will turn on me."

"I didn't. You summoned a dead girl in front of me and set a plant on fire and I'm still here."

"You were too scared I would die, Joe. And you haven't said anything about any of that since it happened. You've acted like it didn't happen."

"I was in shock, yes! I don't have too much experience with this, Cassie, and I think I deserve some time to adjust," he said before I cut him off.

"I'm not saying you shouldn't have that time, but you've acted like it didn't happen. How was I supposed to know I didn't break your mind or something?" I said looking him in the eyes again.

"Cassie, you didn't seem like you wanted to talk, so I let it go. That's why I haven't said anything."

"I'm sorry. My dad has me more neurotic than usual because he's always told me that people will turn against me because of my powers."

"I'm not. I think it's interesting to be able to do things like that. Can you control it?"

"Most of the time. According to Dad, The Shield and AJ got a taste of me losing control of the pyrokinesis in London after you power bombed me. I had been feeling the control slip during the match with AJ, more with Dean, and then when I lost consciousness I also apparently lost control and set the ring on fire. That wasn't the pyrotechnics gone wrong. Dad was pissed at me about that and tried to use that as a reason to make me quit."

"That was you?" he asked in amazement. "He shouldn't have been so hard on you! It wasn't like you willingly let the fire go!"

"That's what I told him, but I had nearly hurt AJ a few hours before and he wasn't so forgiving."

"What did you do to April?"

"Did she tell you guys a light nearly fell on her in the gym?"

He nodded at me.

"Well, she had pissed me off, I lost control of the fire in me, it burned a rope, and the light fell a few feet away from her."

"Damn! Remind me not to piss you off again, Cassie!" he exclaimed laughing and running his hand through his long hair.

I smiled at him, before I couldn't help but laugh at his reaction.

"You're definitely a strange one, Joe Anoa'i."

"Says the pyro who summons the dead."

We both cracked up laughing and I realized that I made the right choice in telling him the truth.

"How long have you known you can do this, Cassie?"

"For as long as I can remember. Dad told me I used to burn people when I would get mad as a toddler."

"You must have really given new meaning to the term 'Terrible Two's,' huh?"

"I guess so," I said laughing.

"So I know you can start fires, heal, and call the dead. What else can you do?"

"I can control water, air, and the earth. I have full elemental control. It's why I can control fire. I'm also telekinetic."

"Can you show me?"

I got up and got the ice bucket. After going into the hallway and filling it with ice, I returned to the hotel room and put it on the table between us. I lifted just the ice out of the bucket with the telekinesis. Then, using the fire, I melted the ice. Using my control of water, I turned it back into ice and finally I put it back into the bucket. Then, I let a little wind storm loose in the living room area of the suite. It made the hanging pictures tilt sideways and shifted the tables a little. Finally, I looked at the plant next to Joe, which looked like it was in need of some care and willed life back into it. With my powers the plant became visibly healthier in minutes. When I stopped, I looked at Joe and found him looking at me in awe.

"That is amazing, Cassie."

"Thanks."

"I don't think I know anyone who knows how to do these things."

"I don't know, but if you did, they may not be willing to tell you. A lot of people who can do things like me won't tell even the people they're closest to because they don't want to risk them turning on them."

"I would never do that."

"But they wouldn't know that unless they're a telepath or an empath."

"A telepath can read minds right? But what's an empath?"

"Yes, telepaths read minds. Empaths feel emotions and physical pain. They can literally feel everything someone else feels. It's horrible," I said, looking at my hands and remembering the end of Denise's life, trying not to cry.

"You didn't say you were an empath, Cassie."

"I'm not. At least, not anymore. I haven't been in years. It nearly killed me," I said in a soft voice, still not looking at him.

"What happened to you?"

I couldn't answer him. I couldn't tell him that I failed. The energy in the room changed and I knew we weren't alone anymore.

"I happened, Joe," Denise said, appearing next to me.

I looked up at Denise and I felt even worse about what I'd said to her the week before. She'd saved my life and I'd threatened to destroy her afterlife. What kind of friend does that?

"Denise, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have," I started before she stopped me.

"You were upset, Cassie. It's okay."

"It's not. You saved me."

"You didn't do it. Forget about it."

She put her transparent arms around me and I could feel the cold where her arms were.

"What happened to your empathy, Cassie?" Joe asked again, tentatively, like he was afraid I would break.

I looked at Denise. I couldn't answer him. I nodded at her.

"When I got really sick, Cassie and I were still spending a lot of time together, Joe. We were best friends. Our fathers both kept us on the road with them because our mothers couldn't handle us for different reasons. Mine because she didn't know how to handle a dying daughter, her's because she was too young to be a mother. Even though I was older, we were inseparable. Most of the wrestlers are like your father, Joe. They leave their kids at home and visit when they have time off. So we were all we had around the same age.

"Cassie was only twelve years old when I died. In the end, when she was around me she was getting sick. Her heart was getting weaker, but my heart was getting stronger for short periods. She wasn't doing it on purpose, but she was gonna die because of me. We were best friends and she was so scared to lose me she was taking on my heart problems herself to make me better. I realized what was going on and I told Mark and he blocked her empathy and healing abilities from me. I was fifteen years old and had accepted I wouldn't make sixteen. There was no way I was gonna let a twelve year old go down for or with me.

"After I died, Mark unblocked her abilities. As the years progressed and her powers got stronger her empathy became more of a problem. There were a few incidents she was around where she was hurt and others were hurt worse and she started taking on their injuries before she could focus and stop herself. The injuries she took on on top of the injuries she had nearly killed her. Mark had no choice but to permanently block her empathy to protect her."

I couldn't look at either one of them. I could feel Joe's eyes on me and Denise's hand on my shoulder.

"Denise, you should probably go now. Don't burn through your energy. Thank you for coming. I didn't deserve it after what I did last week."

"You're still my best friend, Cassidy. I love you."

"I love you, too."

I felt the cold fade away and knew she was gone. I finally looked into Joe's eyes and saw a mix of fear and sympathy in them.

"Your powers almost killed you, Cassie?" he asked in a low voice.

"Yeah. They feed on my energy, so when I use them too much they can do that. It's why even last week I kept going unconscious."

"You didn't tell me that's what it was."

"I didn't know how to tell you. You were anxious enough."

"So what now?"

"I don't know."

"What about you hurting yourself? Why did you start after you stopped for so long?"

"I'm having issues, Joe. Issues I'm not ready to talk about now and I don't know if I ever will. I'm sorry. I've already told you so much more than I've ever told anyone but Denise. Doesn't that count for anything?"

I put my head in my hands. I couldn't handle the possibility I had just broken the trust I had made with him by telling him the things I had. He surprised me. Grabbing my chin and lifting my face to look me in the eye, his eyes were full of understanding and concern.

"Baby Girl, I'll wait forever if that's what it takes for you to be able to tell me what you need to."

I surprised both of us when I leaned over the table and kissed him on his lips, feeling the softness of his lips for the first time since he kissed me in the ring.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter Nineteen: The Good and The Bad**

After that afternoon in the hotel, Joe and I started dating. A few weeks after we did, I took him home to Texas to Dad and told him. Dad seemed angry, but we calmed him down after I told him that Joe knew the truth about my powers and the cutting and wanted to be there for me still. I told him about Denise going to Joe when I had gotten "sick" because she was worried about me. It sealed things. Dad didn't like it, but he accepted Joe Anoa'i as part of my life.

Things were good with Joe and I, but things were getting awkward with some of my other friends in the WWE. Stephen, John, and Oscar didn't like our relationship. Jon and Josh Fatu were all for our relationship, and had started calling me cousin. I started slipping into a deeper depression by the time the Elimination Chamber came around.

Roman Reigns was fighting in the Elimination Chamber match for a chance at the WWE Championship. Morgana wasn't fighting. I was sick, legitimately. Joe wanted to back out of the Elimination Chamber match because I had been throwing up for days, but I wouldn't let him.

"You've been really sick, Cassie. I don't want to leave you alone all night."

"I'll be fine. I'll go to the arena. This way, I'm backstage and you won't be away from me except for when you have your match. You can ask Jon and Josh to stay with me if it makes you feel better."

"I don't like it. I should just pull out of the match."

"No, Joe. This is a huge match for you. I'm not letting you pull out because of me."

"Cassie, you've been really down and now you've been sick. Don't think I haven't noticed how upset you've been lately. I'm just glad you haven't hurt yourself. I'm hoping when you're ready, you'll talk to me, but I don't want to push you, Baby Girl."

"I'll be okay, Joe. I haven't hurt myself, I swear."

I was glad he didn't think I had. We hadn't done more than kiss because I still couldn't let myself get any closer to him without freaking out. It was part of why I was depressed. That and the fact that I was surrounded by so many people who I used to trust completely who were now treating me differently because I was dating him. The problem was they didn't know the truth about me which is what would make them understand Joe isn't the person they think he is.

"I know you haven't. I'm worried about you, but I know you haven't crossed that line, Cass."

"You have to go to work tonight."

"What about you?"

"I'll still be backstage when you come out of the chamber."

"Are you sure, Baby Girl?"

"Yes. You're not giving up this match for me."

"I love you, Cassidy."

I looked at him in shock. He had never said that to me. I had never said it to him either.

"Don't worry, I don't want you to say it back until you're ready," he said as he kissed me.

He turned around and got in the shower, leaving me there stunned. When he got out of the shower, he got dressed and we went to the arena. Jon and Josh were bouncing around the warm-up gym already when we got there.

"Cousins!" Josh yelled coming over to us.

"Hey, Josh," Joe said to him.

"How are you feeling, Cassie?" Josh asked me.

"Yeah, you still puking all the time? If you are, aim for Dean," Jonathan said.

I laughed.

"I'm okay. I must have some kind of stomach bug. Don't worry, I won't puke on you guys."

I sat on the side and watched the three of them as they warmed up together. While I was sitting there, Stephanie came in and sat next to me.

"How are you feeling, Cassidy?" she asked.

"I'm okay. What's up, Stephanie?"

"Well, I don't want to bring this up, but I need you to report to medical right now."

"Why?"

"You're being sick. Cassidy, you've been throwing up for a while now, but you're not showing any signs of being sick. Are you and Joe Anoa'i sexually active?"

I couldn't believe what she was implying. I shook my head no.

"Were you sexually active before the two of you got together?"

I nodded. I didn't tell her it was forced.

"I need you to get a pregnancy test done. I can't let you wrestle if you're pregnant. It's dangerous to you and the baby."

I nodded, still in shock.

"Stephanie," I said, finding my voice.

"Yeah, Cassidy?"

"I know it's probably inappropriate, but will you come with me?"

"Cassidy, are you okay?"

"I don't want to be alone and I don't want Joe to know about this."

She looked at me with understanding in her eyes.

"Alright, let's go."

We got up and left the warm-up gym. Twenty minutes later, Stephanie and I were sitting in her office waiting for Doc Fernandez to come back with my test results. Finally, he knocked on the door and came in with the results.

"What are the results, Doctor Fernandez?" Stephanie asked him.

He looked from me to her before he answered.

"Positive. She'll need further tests to tell how far along she is."

I dropped my head in my hands. Either Jonathan Good or Colby Lopez had gotten me pregnant.

"Thank you, Doctor. I expect you to keep this confidential. You may go now," Stephanie told him.

"Stephanie," I started.

"We'll need you to drop the title, Cassie, and you'll go on maternity leave immediately."

"Stephanie, wait."

"What is it?"

"I'm not going on maternity leave."

"You can't wrestle while you're pregnant, Cassidy."

"I'm not going to have the baby. I can't."

"Are you sure?"

I nodded.

"Don't you think you should discuss this with the father?"

I struggled not to yell at her.

"No. I was raped, Stephanie. I didn't want to tell anyone. Joe doesn't know. Nobody does. I was raped the night after Survivor Series. Please don't tell anyone. I'm not keeping this baby."

I saw her do the math. She realized that two days after Survivor Series Joe called Paul and told them I was sick. She realized that I didn't have food poisoning.

"You weren't sick that week that Joe stayed with you, were you, Cassidy?"

"No. I wasn't. He doesn't know it, but he found me after I had been raped repeatedly."

"Why didn't you tell us?"

"I don't want anyone to know, Stephanie. Please."

"I won't tell anyone, Cassidy, but I wish you would see someone about this. This is serious. And, I'm sorry to bring this up, but you have a history of doing things to yourself and I don't want you to hurt yourself."

I knew she'd go there.

"I haven't hurt myself, Stephanie. Paul had Doc Fernandez do a full physical on me after I came back. No cuts, no scars."

"I'm glad to hear that, Cassie. Does Joe know about your past?"

"Yes and he's trying to be there for me even though he doesn't know what's wrong. He wanted to pull out of the Elimination Chamber match because he's worried about me. I told him I'd stay backstage with him and his cousins all night so I wouldn't be alone. He stopped saying he was gonna pull out of the match. I don't want him to ruin this opportunity. He was so happy when you guys told him you wanted to put him in the match, I didn't want him to give it up for me."

"I'm glad he's so willing to do so much for you, Cassie, but you should be honest with him. He's obviously completely devoted to you above all else."

"I know, but I don't know how to talk about it, Stephanie. I've told him a lot about me already. Things I've never told anyone but Denise. I trust him, but I can't get past a certain point without freaking out."

"It will get better, Cassie. You just need to start letting things out instead of holding everything in."

"I'm trying, Stephanie. I've already let out a lot of things with Joe, but I can't bring myself to let everything go just yet."

"Alright. Just take it one step at a time. In the meantime, if you need to talk about this, you can come talk to me, since I'm the only one who knows about it. I'll tell Doctor Fernandez not to put this in your medical file. But for now, you should get back to Joe and his cousins before they worry too much."

"Thanks, Stephanie."

"No problem, Cassidy. I'm taking you off the schedule until you recover from handling this. Let me know when you're ready to come back."

"I will."

I got up and walked back to the gym, where Joe, Jon, and Josh were waiting for me.

"Is everything okay?" Joe asked me.

"Yeah, what did Stephanie want?" Jon asked.

"Are you in trouble?" Josh asked.

"I'm okay. Stephanie wanted to talk to me since I've been sick and she had me go get checked in medical."

"Guys, give us a minute," Joe said to his cousins.

Joe and me walked outside again.

"What happened in medical, Cassie?"

"Can we talk about this tomorrow? I'm tired."

"Cassie, are you okay?"

"Don't worry, I'll figure out how to tell you tomorrow."

"I'm gonna hold you to that," he said as he leaned down and kissed me. "I gotta go get ready for tonight. Will you be alright with my cousins while I do?"

I kissed him back and plastered on a fake smile.

"Go. I'll be okay."

The night was amazing. Roman Reign's won the WWE Championship from John Cena after his Superman Punch left Cena unconscious in the ring. We celebrated after the event with his cousins, Trinity, and John, who wanted to welcome him to the big-league. The following day, things were less amazing.

"Cassidy, what happened yesterday?" Joe asked me after breakfast.

I started looking at the carpet. The paper towels caught fire. Joe rushed and put it out.

"What's wrong, Cassie?"

"Joe, I need you to sit down."

He looked really worried and sat down.

"What is it, Baby Girl?"

"I think you need to know what happened last night, but I need you to promise you're not going to jump to conclusions or overreact."

"Okay, but you've got me really worried now."

"Stephanie wanted me to go for a pregnancy test last night. She said with the symptoms I've been showing and not showing, if I was pregnant it could be dangerous."

"But we haven't," he started.

"No, we haven't, Joe. But before we started dating something happened. I was attacked."

As what I said registered in his mind I could see the rage take over.

"WHO HURT YOU?! WHO THE HELL HURT YOU, CASSIE?!"

"Joe, you promised me you'd stay calm!" I cried out.

I was scared. I was alone in the suite with him. The last time I had been alone with any member of The Shield I had gotten pregnant. He wasn't one of them, but he used to be. I was shaking. He calmed down and put his hand on mine trying to soothe me.

"I'm sorry," he said struggling not to rage. 

"I'm not ready to talk about what happened or who did it, but you needed to know that I'm pregnant, Joe. I'm not keeping the baby. I've decided to have an abortion."

"What?"

"I can't have the baby. I just can't. And I can't go through an abortion alone, Joe. I'm scared."

He got up and hugged me as I cried into his chest.

"You're not alone, Baby Girl. You're never gonna be alone again."

He held me as I cried myself to sleep. That day, he skipped his daily work-out to stay in bed holding me as I cried on his shoulder.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter Twenty: Wrestlemania XXXI: Events Leading to and Aftermath**

Wrestlemania was just a few weeks after the Elimination Chamber. Roman Reigns was headlining as the WWE champion and he was facing Sheamus who had won the Royal Rumble. Morgana had been scheduled to fight Natalya for the Diva's Championship, and I convinced Stephanie not to cancel the match, citing the fact it would be my Wrestlemania debut. I had the abortion the day after I told Joe I was pregnant and she knew that, so she told me if I was cleared no later than one week before Wrestlemania, Morgana's match wouldn't be pulled. Undertaker was scheduled to fight Dean Ambrose, who had attacked Morgana when I was in the ring with Roman Reigns during Raw the day after the Elimination Chamber. Kane was scheduled to fight Seth Rollins who started saying that he could destroy the Big Red Monster when he found out Dean was scheduled to fight Undertaker. We all had big matches.

Leading into Wrestlemania was even bigger for me. Joe had convinced me that I wouldn't be able to fully get past my depression unless I fixed things with the people who had been my friends in the WWE. So, we planned a party. At this party, which only those I trusted would be invited to, I would tell my now co-workers the truth about me. The party was being held at a hall with room for me to show my abilities if I needed to.

Everything was going great. All of my friends, past and present from the WWE were at the party. The Hardys had come up. I had missed especially Jeff so much. When he was travelling with the WWE we used to have a lot of fun, but we had started getting into trouble together a few years after Denise died. It was good to have them around. Ken Anderson came, also taking a night off from touring with TNA like Jeff and Matt had. Joe's family was invited because so many knew me growing up and we agreed it was to rip off the band-aid with telling them about us and my secrets. Everyone was having a good time.

Towards the end of the night, Joe and I took center stage. I took the microphone and decided to address the people I had viewed as my family for a very long time. It was hard, looking at all these people who had known me for so long and known so little about me.

"Joe and I want to thank all of you for being here tonight. I'm sure all of you want to know why we decided to throw this party, right before Wrestlemania. First, I wanted all of you to get a chance to know the real Joe Anoa'i, the man that I'm falling for, because for better and for worse, you have been my extended family for as long as I can remember. Many of you didn't know Joe very well, you only knew him as his Roman Reigns character, and what's worse, you only knew him as the Roman Reigns of The Shield, the real asshole. I know that's why so many of you have had issues with the two of us being together and I wanted to give you a chance to get to know him, outside of the ring, so you can see what I see in him. I'm not asking you to be his best friend, just that you give him a chance. He means so much to me."

I took a deep breath and took Joe's hand for support.

"The other reason is because I have made a decision that I have been scared to make for a long time. I'm sure many of you have seen that I have been depressed lately and for those of you who have known me for a few years, you're probably worried that I'm not dealing well. I need to be honest, part of the reason I am depressed I am not ready to discuss, but part of it is because I feel isolated from all of you.

"No, I don't feel isolated just because so many of you have an issue with who my boyfriend is. I feel isolated because while so many of you have known me for years, none of you really know me. It has finally gotten to me. It isn't your fault. I haven't been able to tell you things about me. First, I was told it was best to keep certain things about me to myself. Then I was so used to keeping these things to myself that I was scared if I told you, you wouldn't stay at my side. I was afraid you'd turn on me for being different. I'm not giving in to the fear anymore. Tonight is about finding out truths.

"The secrets about me that none of you knew was that I am really not normal. I have more in common with my Morgana character than any of you realized. For as long as I can remember, I have had certain abilities that are not normal. The night The Shield knocked me unconscious in London and then the ring caught fire, that was me. I can control the elements, summon the dead, and move things with my mind. For a long time, I was scared of telling all of you and it has isolated me. Now, it is time to see who is truly my family among you."

I stood there with Joe. There was silence in the room. Then, of all the people to speak up, it was Dave Bautista.

"You can't really expect us to believe that, can you, Cassie?"

I raised my arms and every candle that I had asked Joe to place around the hall lit at once. There were almost two hundred candles in the hall.

"Yes, I do, Dave."

He looked from the candle in front of him to the stage where I was standing in shock.

Jeff got up and came up to the stage. He hugged me.

"You know I don't care, Cass."

"Thanks, Jeff."

"You better take care of her, Joe, or I'm gonna come back and kick your ass," he said as he shook Joe's hand.

"I'll take care of her as long as she'll let me," Joe said to Jeff.

JTG and Shad Gaspard, aka Cryme Tyme, got up and followed Jeff's example.

"We're from New York, girl. We've seen crazier than some chick turning on the candles," JTG said as he kissed my cheek.

"If anyone picks on you, let me know and I'll come deal with them. That includes your pretty boy boyfriend here," said Shad as he hugged me.

"Guys, he's been great with me. He's really been understanding and helped me through some really tough times lately," I said defending Joe. "So be nice."

"Okay, but if you change your mind," said JTG.

"We'll be back," finished Shad.

Most of my friends stood by my side. I didn't care about the two or three who left the party after I told the truth. I felt better telling the truth and having so many people stay at my side. Dad was wrong. These people really did care.

I was cleared for Wrestlemania eight days before the event. The first person I called when I got the clearance was Stephanie to tell her that I had been cleared. Then I called Natalie to let her know that I was cleared and we'd still have our Wrestlemania moment. I was excited. Divas didn't usually get a singles match at Wrestlemania. They usually got some gimmick match, but this year, Natalie and I were getting a real match for the Diva's Championship.

The morning of Wrestlemania, Joe woke up and found I wasn't in my bed. We still shared a two bedroom suite because I wasn't ready to share a bed with him like that. I could hear him calling for me, but I couldn't answer him. I wanted to, but I couldn't find my voice. The pressure was hitting me and I was trying not to go to that dark place again.

"_Cassie, don't do it."_

_Denise, help me!_

Roman's POV:

I got out of bed to wake Cassie and get her ready for the excitement of the day. Her first Wrestlemania, I was so proud of her. When I opened up her room door, she wasn't in her bed. I checked the other side of the bed, sometimes she curled up on the floor when she was scared. She wasn't there. I checked her closet, she wasn't there.

"CASSIE! WHERE ARE YOU?!"

"Joe," Denise said from behind me.

"Denise, where is she?"

"She's on the balcony. She's panicked, frozen in fear."

"What happened?"

"Pressure, memories. She's overwhelmed. She asked me to help her. Get to her before she hurts herself Joe. She's fighting not to slip back there, for you."

"Thank you, Denise."

Denise faded away and I ran to the balcony door. I went outside and found Cassie crouched down in the corner behind the table. Slowly I went over to her and picked her up, carrying her inside. I sat down on the couch, keeping her in my arms, sitting her in my lap.

Cassie's POV:

Joe brought me back inside. I was still shaking, but I was in his arms and the darkness wasn't pressing in as hard as it was before. My voice still wouldn't work, but I just curled closer to Joe's chest. He was rubbing circles on my lower back, like he always did now when I went into a meltdown.

"It's okay, Baby Girl. I got you. Nobody's gonna hurt you now."

He rocked me back and forth as he rubbed the circles on my back. I must have fallen asleep again, because Joe woke me up at noon to tell me we had to get ready to head to the arena.

I got off his lap and jumped in the shower, letting the hot water relax my nerves. Unfortunately, I didn't realize I let the water run on me too long until Joe came in and threw a towel over me and pulled me out of the shower. He pulled me out of the bathroom and put me down on my bed, pulling my robe over the towel.

"Are you okay, Cassie? You didn't answer when I knocked on the door," he said to me.

"I didn't hear you," I said in a low voice. "I guess I got lost in my head. I'm sorry, Joe."

"Your skin is all red and raw, Baby Girl. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'll be okay. I'll put some moisturizer on, it will help."

"Do you need to talk?"

"I don't know what to say, Joe. There's so much going on in my head. Tonight's Wrestlemania. I've never been there as a competitor before."

"I know. I'm so proud of you. This is huge for you, Cassie."

"Not as big as you going in as WWE Champion, Joe."

"It's bigger. You're gonna have a Diva's Championship match, not some stupid gimmick match to have you Divas strip in the ring."

"Go, let me get ready."

Joe left my room and I got ready, moisturizing my skin to help with the rawness from the shower. When I was ready, I came out with my gym bag to find Joe had ordered lunch for me. There was a bloody burger sitting at the table for me.

"Thanks," I said as I sat down.

"I figured you could use it today."

"You're right. Thank you."

We had lunch and then left for the arena. The rest of the day was a blur. Before I knew it, I was crouched in the gorilla position waiting to go out for my match. Nattie and me were opening the event. Even as I was in the gorilla position with her, I couldn't believe that I was at Wrestlemania. This was everything that any wrestler, Diva or Superstar, dreamed of making it to and I was here as a champion.

Nattie went out before me as the number one contender to the Diva's Championship. A few minutes later, my music started. I went down to the ring. What I didn't expect, was before the match could start Roman Reigns music started blaring in the arena and he started coming down the ramp. The crowd went wild as he came to the ring. He looked into my eyes and kissed me in the ring as he had the first time he ever kissed me.

"Good luck, Baby Girl," he whispered in my ear.

He turned to Nattie and nodded at her before climbing out of the ring to sit at the announcer's table next to Jerry Lawler. Nattie just looked at me questioningly as she made her way to the center of the ring. The ref called for the bell and we started the match.

Natalya opened the match with a suplex, which she performed perfectly. When I got up, we went blow for blow, as we were two of the only Divas who had the power behind us like the Superstars. After a few minutes of that, I grabbed Natalya's arm and put her in the cross arm breaker. She countered and put me into the Sharpshooter, which hurts like a bitch. I reached out and grabbed her ankle, pulling her down and breaking the hold.

We both lay on the mat for a minute until the ref started counting us both out. We both had to get back to a vertical base before the double count-out. Getting back to our feet, I performed a running bulldog on Natalya, which she followed with a backbreaker. The match went back and forth for a while and then new music started blaring in the arena. AJ Lee's music.

AJ came running to the ring, trying to interrupt our match, but neither Natalya nor I were gonna deal with the little psychopath. When AJ entered the ring, Natalya performed an enzuigiri kick on her and then I picked her up and Tombstoned her. She didn't get back up. Natalya kicked her from the ring and we went back to the match like AJ had never come out.

Dean Ambrose came out to avenge AJ, but he didn't get anywhere near the ring. Roman Reigns met him on the ramp and speared him halfway back to the locker room before turning and going back to the announce table. Natalya got back into character and put me into the abdominal stretch, which nearly brought me to tears and made me go off-script.

Nat had no idea why our match had been up in the air until just days before the event. She had no idea I had an abortion just weeks before Wrestlemania. I screamed out in pain, and in my peripheral vision I saw Roman jump up and come to the apron.

"Don't push yourself, Morgana," he said to me.

I screamed in pain again. I could see his face clearly now. The turmoil in his eyes was clear. He was fighting the urge to jump in the ring and break Natalya's hold on me. Before I let myself get pushed that far, I leaned into Natalya and kicked her in the side of the head, forcing her to break the hold. I hit the mat, holding my stomach. Roman reached in and pulled me out of the ring.

"Baby Girl, don't keep going. If you're in that much pain, give up the belt," he said into my ear as he held me.

"I'll be fine," I said as I leaned into him, trying to catch my breath. "She doesn't know."

I took another minute before I jumped back into the ring. When I did, Roman went back to the announce table, keeping himself from interfering in the match. As I did, Natalya grabbed me for another suplex. Before she could do it, I countered and performed the Tombstone Piledriver on her, pinning her.

The ref gave me my belt back and held my hand up in victory. I grabbed Nattie's hand and held her hand up. She was a fierce competitor. When I raised both of my hands, the pain in my stomach exploded and I fell to my knees in pain.

"MORGANA!" I heard Roman scream.

Within seconds, he and a few of the trainers were at my side. They put me on a stretcher and rolled me into the back to the medical suite. Natalie stayed at Joe's side as they rushed me out.

"I didn't mean to hurt her," I heard her tell him.

"It's not your fault, Nat. She had a procedure a few weeks ago that made her vulnerable to your abdominal stretch. You didn't know," he told her.

"Oh my god. Is she okay?"

"I hope so."

They took me to medical and from there I was rushed to the hospital. Natalie came with me so Dad, Glenn, and Joe wouldn't back out of their matches at Wrestlemania. Dad and Glenn annihilated Dean and Seth and Joe successfully defended his title against Stephen. Before they got to the hospital it was just me and Nattie.

"Why didn't you tell me you had a procedure a few weeks ago, Cassie? I wouldn't have done the abdominal stretch tonight," she said to me, worried, when they brought me back to my room after running some tests.

"I didn't really tell anyone that I had this procedure done right after the Elimination Chamber, Nat. Only Stephanie, Joe, and Doc Fernandez knew. I'm sorry, I should have told you. I didn't think about it."

"Do you want to talk?"

Nattie was like a big sister. She had proved that by staying at my side after the party.

"I had an abortion, Nattie."

"Joe got you pregnant, Cassie?"

"No. Joe and I haven't gone that far. We don't even share a bed in our hotel room. We get a suite. I got attacked a few months ago. I found out at the Elimination Chamber event I was pregnant. Two days later I had an abortion. I was cleared to come back and didn't think about your abdominal stretch affecting me. I'm sorry, Nattie."

She came over and hugged me.

"I'm sorry that you've been through hell and haven't told anyone, Cassie. What can I do for you?"

"You're doing it. You're being you, the adopted big sister that you've been for years now."

"Always, Cass."

"Thanks for being my first Wrestlemania opponent, Nattie. I've wanted to defend the title against you for a few months. I was pissed off that you weren't a choice for number one contender for Survivor Series. I think you're probably the best Diva in the locker room right now."

"You're not so bad yourself, Cass."

By the time Dad, Glenn, and Joe got to the hospital, I was signing my discharge papers. Thankfully, there was no serious damage. Tests had shown the abdominal stretch had put pressure on my body in a way that my healing body couldn't handle. The doctors told me to be careful for a few days but I would be fine. Nattie was helping me get my jacket on. Glenn drove her back to the arena to get her car and Joe drove back to the hotel with me. Dad followed us.

The day after Wrestlemania, at Raw, Roman and Morgana were in the ring at the beginning of the show when none other The Wyatts came out to interrupt us.

"Morgana is a monster like us. She doesn't belong with you, Roman," Bray said.

Roman protectively pushed me behind him.

"Come any closer Bray and I'll break your freak ass."

"I don't fear you. She belongs with me. She's like me. Her power is too great for you, but I could tame her," he said to Roman.

I looked around and noticed that Luke Harper and Erick Rowan were surrounding the ring.

"Roman," I said. "They're everywhere."

He looked around and realized what I did.

"Come with me, Morgana. I can teach you, tame your power, and turn you into a good girl," Bray said to me.

I lost control. I stepped out from behind Roman at those words and threw my arms up, creating a wall of flames around the apron, making Harper and Rowan jump back.

"I'm not going to be tamed by you or anybody else, Bray Wyatt," I said pointing at him, making the lantern in his hand explode into flames. "If you or your boys come near me and I'll fry you. The only people I'll be with will be the people I choose, and you three don't make the cut. Roman does."

I grabbed Roman's arm and curled into him, ending with it around my shoulders. He was laughing and I didn't care how much trouble I'd be in later. Bray repeating the words Jonathan and Colby used on me set off my rage.


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter Twenty One : Feud with The Wyatt Family**

Roman and I left the ring and he was still amazed by the way I could spread my power to cover him to keep him safe from the fire I had started. By the time we got backstage I was infuriated. Nobody had said anything to me about The Wyatts starting a feud with us. When Rodney told me that Stephanie wanted to see us, I was already on my way to her office. I barged in and slammed the door behind Joe.

"Did you know about The Wyatts pulling that shit and forget to tell me, Stephanie?" I asked her angrily.

"You need to calm down, Cassie. We need to discuss your flagrant disregard of safety of those three Superstars."

"Not until you answer my question, Stephanie," I growled at her.

Joe had his hand on my back, trying to calm me. Anger was radiating off of me. The Wyatts had more than unsettled me. Stephanie sighed and looked at her hands.

"No. They weren't supposed to go out to the ring. Dean Ambrose and AJ Lee were to challenge the two of you to a mixed tag match at Extreme Rules. It was supposed to end the storyline between all of you. It was made clear to the two of them that if they didn't stop harassing the two of you they would be released from their contracts. The Wyatts weren't supposed to be anywhere near you," Stephanie said, looking me in the eye at last.

She confirmed my worst nightmare. Bray Wyatt did in fact know more about me than I wanted. I started shaking. Joe noticed.

"What's wrong, Cassie?" Joe asked.

"Windham knows," I said, the anger turning to fear.

"Knows what, Cassie," Stephanie asked, noticing the change. "What do you mean?"

"Tonight was a set-up. He knows about my power. He pushed me. I don't know how he knows, but I've suspected he's known since before Hell in a Cell, but I've avoided him, Jon, and Joseph actively. Tonight he was pushing me to get a reaction. I don't know how he knew to say what he did, though," I said looking at the floor, angry at myself for giving in to his plan.

"What are you talking about, Baby Girl?"

"When he said he'd teach me to be a good girl. That's what set me off. The night I was attacked I was told that. I was told that I had to be taught to be a good girl," I said, leaving out the fact that Joe's former best friends had also mentioned him while doing it and the fact it wasn't the only time.

Stephanie's face softened. Joe's face warred between rage and wanting to comfort me. He gave in to comforting me. He put his arms around me.

"Oh, Cassie," Stephanie said to me. "I'm sorry. No wonder you lost control out there. We're not gonna make a big deal about this as far as discipline, but we can't ignore what The Wyatts just started. Can you handle this feud for a short while?"

"Not alone and not for too long, Stephanie. I don't know what they know or how, but I don't trust what they're up to."

"We'll have this go only a few weeks. It will come to an end at Extreme Rules. We'll push the end of your feud with Dean and AJ back to Payback. Can you handle that?"

"Can my dad become involved? And maybe Glenn? So I don't have to get in the ring with them every time? I mean, I am the only Diva who fights in the men's division nowadays, but I don't want to face these guys too much before Extreme Rules. Besides, I'm not clear to go in ring until next Monday."

"I think that's a good idea. Roman Reigns joining the Family of Destruction to defend his girlfriend? I think that will be amazing for business. But maybe you should go talk to your father, Cassie. I assume you haven't told him what happened after Survivor Series?"

I shook my head to tell her I hadn't.

"He's here. He saw what you did in the ring and he was in here, furious that you had done what you did to The Wyatts. I think you are gonna have to tell him the truth to make him back off."

I looked up at her. She didn't realize what she was asking me.

"Stephanie, if I tell him, what I did in that ring will be nothing compared to what _he_ will do. Where do you think I get these abilities from? _Both parents._ Ask your father, there have been instances over the years when the pyrotechnics malfunctioned. That was Dad, not a malfunction. Let me avoid him for the rest of the event. I'll find something to tell him tomorrow. I'll leave here with Joe as soon as his match ends tonight."

Stephanie's eyes went wide with realization.

"That night when fire almost hit AJ, it was him, wasn't it?"

"Yes. He realized she had put a ring on during our match and cut my eye. He got angry because she'd intentionally done something that could have left me blind."

"Alright. I'll make sure he's distracted. I'll put him in a match next. Joe, your match will be at the mid-way point so you can get out of here early with Cassie. You guys lay low until then."

Dad was put in a match against Luke Harper. I watched from backstage as he leveled him. They weren't that different in terms of height, but it was clear that Harper was no match for Dad in terms of power. No matter what Harper did, Dad got back up. Dad was furious, Harper, Bray, and Rowan had gone off-script to come after me. After the match, Joe and I made ourselves scarce as he got ready for his match against Randy Orton.

We decided I would go ringside for the match so I wouldn't run into Dad while Joe was in the ring and this way when he finished we could leave. I entered with him to his music and stayed at the announce table next to Jerry. The match started, but I didn't pay much attention to it until the lights went out and the music for The Wyatt Family started. I got up and went into the ring even though I shouldn't have been in there.

The lights came back on and Randy was gone. It was me and Roman with our backs to the announce table facing off against Bray, Luke, and Erick on the opposite side of the ring. Bray took a step toward the center of the ring. I followed suit with Roman at my side.

"You shouldn't be in this ring, now should you, Little Girl?" Bray asked me.

Nobody but Stephanie, Paul, Natalie, and my family knew about me being restricted for the week. It wasn't unheard of for the Divas to go a week or so without being in-ring. But, again, he knew more than he should.

"After that match yesterday, you were told to rest, weren't you?" he asked.

I just glared at him. I refused to answer him. Instead I took one step closer to him.

"Are you coming to your senses and joining us, Morgana? You know you're as much a monster on the inside as we are," he said to me.

He went to grab me to perform Sister Abigail, but I was ready for that. I kicked him in the stomach. I grabbed him by his neck and performed a swinging neckbreaker as Roman speared both Harper and Rowan. Bray hit the mat and before I got up, whispered something that stopped me in my tracks long enough for him to grab me.

"_Baby killer,"_ he whispered in my ear before I got away from him.

He grabbed me to perform Sister Abigail, but Roman stopped him. Instead, Bray got a Superman Punch. I hit the mat, but not as badly as I would have if Bray had performed his finisher on me. Sore from overexertion, Roman and I made our way out of the ring to the backstage area of the arena, where we grabbed our gym bags and left, still in our ring attire.

The following morning Joe and I woke up to banging on our hotel room door. I got to the door before Joe got out of his room. Dad was on the other side. As I opened the door, Joe came out of his room pulling on a t-shirt.

"CASSIDY WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT LAST NIGHT?!" Dad started yelling at me before the door fully closed.

"Good morning to you too, Dad," I said, stifling a yawn.

"Don't give me that good morning shit, Cassidy! I told you that you being here was dangerous! First you attacked three Superstars! Then you went against doctors' orders to have an in-ring altercation with the same three Superstars that could have really hurt you! What is going on with you?!"

I looked at Joe. He nodded at me.

"Mark, would you like some coffee? Why don't you sit down at the table and give Cassie a minute?"

"You! What were you thinking letting her do those things? You should have made her stay in the hotel last night!" Dad rounded on Joe.

My last nerve snapped and I burned Dad's hand on purpose. He yelled in pain then looked at me incredulously.

"Did you just burn me, Cassidy?!"

"YES! NOW, SIT DOWN AND HAVE SOME FUCKING COFFEE WITHOUT PICKING ON JOE OR I'LL DO MORE THAN BURN YOUR HAND, DAD! HE CAN'T CONTROL ME ANY MORE THAN YOU CAN! I'VE BEEN AWAKE FOR ALL OF FIVE MINUTES WITH YOU IN MY HOTEL ROOM BARKING AT BOTH OF US ABOUT THINGS WHEN YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON! NOW SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP OR LEAVE!"

Joe backed up into the kitchenette of the suite, looking like he wanted to disappear. Dad looked between the two of us and gave in, sitting down at the table. He may be The Undertaker, but he knew better than to push me too far when I was just waking up. I was more likely to attack someone and not care. I went into my room and threw on a sweatshirt, ran a brush through my hair, and then went into the bathroom to brush my teeth. When I went to the table, Joe went inside to do the same, but Dad had his coffee.

"Are you calmer, Dad?" I asked him sitting down.

"I don't have a choice, do I?"

"Not really," I said to him. "I needed space last night and didn't think talking to you last night would do anything but start a pyrokinetic war in the arena. That's why I didn't see you last night. I was going to come see you today. If you don't believe me, ask Stephanie. I told her I would. After I asked her if she would let you and maybe Glenn help with the new problem I'm finding myself in with The Wyatts. I don't want to fight them too much."

"It didn't seem like that last night, Cassie. What the hell happened? What set you off?"

_Damn, he's going right for the big questions,_ I thought.

Joe came and sat down next to me, holding my hand, giving me strength. With him there, I could face Dad. I didn't know how, but I knew that. I squeezed his hand and looked at him. He gave me an encouraging nod.

"Cassie, what's going on with you?"

I looked at Dad and just started talking.

"There's a lot you don't know, Dad. Things I didn't want to tell anyone, but I was forced to tell Joe and Stephanie after the Elimination Chamber and then Natalie on Sunday night. It ties in to why I've been acting the way I have in some ways, and it ties into the fight with Bray last night before Joe and I left Raw."

"What is it, Cassie?" Dad asked me worried.

I took a deep breath before I continued. Joe put one arm around my shoulders, the other still holding my hand.

"The night after Survivor Series, I didn't get food poisoning, Dad. Joe helped me lie to Paul. I wasn't sick. I lied to everyone about that, even you," I started, but stopped when I saw him getting angry. "Don't get mad at Joe. He didn't know the truth about what he was covering up for me. I was hurt, but he only knew part of it. Denise went to him, that part was true, but she went to him because I was about to _die_, Dad."

"What the hell really happened that night, Cassie? Why did you lie to everyone?" he started asking before he realized why I would lie about that. "Did you cut yourself, Cassie? You promised you were trying to stop!"

"Dad! Stop!" I shouted at him. "Let me finish or I won't be able to get this out. This isn't easy to talk about. I'm trying to tell you the truth here, but if you keep yelling at me I'm not gonna be able to."

He looked from me to Joe. I saw Joe shake his head no at him. That shake of his head made it clear, Joe wouldn't help my father. He was on my side.

"Fine," Dad said grudgingly.

"Yes, I cut myself. I cut myself a lot. The week Joe and I stayed together I kept losing consciousness because I was pushing myself to heal the cuts so nobody would know they were fresh. They looked a few years old by the time we went back and Paul sent me for the physical. But there was a reason I cut myself, Dad. I snapped. I snapped so bad and I didn't care anymore.

"When I left Raw that night I was just gonna go back to the hotel and relax. I had a lot on my mind. I was still trying to figure out what the hell was going on in my life. I was avoiding Joe. Brie, who had been my friend for years, had double-crossed me to work with The Shield. Nikki and Bryan were mad at me. I was having a lot of issues. But I didn't make it to the hotel, I didn't even make it to my rental car.

"Someone came up behind me in the parking lot and stuck me with something. They drugged me and took me to some motel in the middle of nowhere and raped me, Dad. It was two guys. I don't remember much, but Denise saved me. She drained the drugs out of me so I could use my powers to melt the handcuffs they had me restrained with off of me. I escaped, but they had made it clear if told anyone they would find me and attack me again, so I didn't tell anyone.

"I left Stephen's room and checked into my own room. When I was alone, I started cutting myself, watching as I bled. I vaguely remember Denise coming back to me, saying she would get me help. The next thing I remember, I was in a different room, with Joe in the living area. He took care of me, putting out fires when I got upset, cleaning up my cuts when they reopened, getting me steaks and burgers to keep my energy up as much as possible.

"I started getting depressed and sick before the Elimination Chamber. Joe was worried about me, and that's why we had the party. But at the event, Stephanie insisted I needed to have a pregnancy test, Dad. She said if I was pregnant, I'd have to take leave. I was. I was almost four months pregnant. Before you ask, there is no possibility that it was Joe's. I've been too scared to go that far with him, and he's never pressured me. That's why we get two bedroom suites when we book our hotel rooms. We don't share a bed. I got pregnant from the rape.

"I refused to have the baby. I told Stephanie as much when she started telling me about going on leave, so the Tuesday after the Elimination Chamber, the day after I finally told Joe what happened, he took me to have an abortion. Until Sunday, only him, Stephanie, and Doc Fernandez knew about that. On Sunday I told Nattie because she felt guilty about hurting me with the abdominal stretch.

"Last night, Bray was goading me into setting the fires. I've suspected since Hell in a Cell that he's known about my abilities, but I don't know how. But when he interrupted Joe's match he told me he knows more. When I did the swinging neckbreaker on him he called me a _baby killer_. Only a handful of people knew about that. Not to mention the wording he was using on me when he came out the first time, it was the wording the people who attacked me used on me. They told me they had to teach me to be a good girl. It's why I snapped, Dad.

"They weren't supposed to be out there, Dad. Stephanie told me that much last night. But she wants to put an end to the storyline quickly. She asked that we carry it out until the next pay-per-view. Will you help me and Joe? She's thinking have him join with The Family of Destruction for Morgana's protection."

Dad stared at the table and I could see the smoke going from his hands. He was struggling not to set something on fire himself. Joe hugged me and kissed my forehead.

"I'm proud of you for finally telling him, Baby Girl," he whispered against my temple.

I snuggled against his chest while Dad fought with his warring emotions. The ball was in his court. I was as honest as I was ready to be at that point.

"Cassie," Dad started, finally finding his voice. "Why wouldn't you tell me sooner?"

I saw the pain in his eyes. It broke my heart.

"Dad, I didn't want to disappoint you. How could I tell you I could handle my life and tell you that I couldn't protect myself? I didn't want to tell anyone. I only told Joe and Stephanie because I had to. I don't know that I would have done it if I hadn't been put in a position where I had to yet."

"Cass, I love you, and I want you to come to me if you are hurt or in trouble. You know that, right?"

I bit back what I wanted to say, which was that I knew that he felt that way if it fit in around his legitimate children.

"I know, Dad," I said instead.

"I'll help you. But you need to stay out of the ring until you're clear to go back. No more fighting with The Wyatts."

"I won't. I'm not going to the taping of Main Event or Smackdown this week."

Dad got up and hugged me. Then he shocked me and Joe by hugging Joe too.

"Thank you for taking such good care of my daughter when she wouldn't let anyone else in," he said to him.

"I'm just glad that Denise came to me so I could get to her in time," Joe said to Dad.

"I'm going to lay back down. This took a lot out of me," I said standing up and giving Dad a kiss on the cheek.

"I'll go talk to Stephanie and Paul," he said to me.

"Thanks, Dad."

"Take care of her, Joe."

"I will, Mark."

Dad left the hotel room and after Joe walked him out he met me in my room to hold me as I fell asleep. It was the only way I could sleep without nightmares anymore. I would fall asleep in his arms and then he would leave my room.

The feud with The Wyatts got a little out of hand. The Monday before Extreme Rules, I was put in a singles match against Bray Wyatt. He went for a victory roll in the match and the closeness of his body was too much for me. After I kicked out, I attacked back.

Harper and Rowan were at ringside, but so were Dad, Kane and Roman. I performed an enzuigiri kick on Bray, leaving him seeing stars. I didn't let it go from there. I did a running bulldog on him. When he got up, I hit him with an elbow to the back of the head. He fell to his knees on the mat. I rolled him up and while Dad, Kane and Roman kept Harper and Rowan out of the ring, he was counted down for the pin.

The morning of Extreme Rules I went to Stephanie in her office. I wanted to talk to her about something. It was big.

"Stephanie?" I said as walked into her office.

"Yeah, sit down, Cassie. What can I do for you?"

"I wanted to talk to you about something. Strictly work related."

"Okay. I'm all ears."

"Well, I've held the Diva's Championship almost constantly for over a year now."

"Right. So?"

"I hardly fight the Divas. I'm not complaining about that so much, but I'm starting to think maybe it's not fair to the Divas. I came in as a newcomer last year, won the championship in my first match, and hardly ever have matches against Divas."

"So what do you want to do about it?"

"Well, the WWE Universe seems to like Morgana fighting the Superstars a lot. And you did mention you were planning on ending the Morgana/AJ feud at Payback, right?"

"Yeah. What are you thinking?"

"What if Morgana vacates the Diva's title the day after Payback to fight the Superstars?"

"Why not drop the title to AJ?"

"I can't bring myself to do that. You told me you want to put mine and Joe's titles up at Payback. I can't ask him to lose his title to Dean for me. Please, after all the two of them have put us through, don't ask me to job the title to her. I'll vacate it. You can have a match between any Diva you want to find a new champion afterwards. Just don't ask me to do that."

"I'll think about it. It's not a bad idea. I mean, other than Natalie, you're too strong for most of the Divas. This could have its benefits. And you do seem to hold your own in singles competition versus some of the top Superstars," she said to me. "I'll talk to Paul and I'll get back to you. You should go get ready for tonight. Are you sure you're still up to this?"

"If it means this is over? Yes, I am," I said to her. "One other thing, Stephanie. Can you and Paul keep this to yourselves for now? I haven't told Joe I was coming to talk to you about this. I didn't want to talk to him unless I knew there was a reason to."

"As long as you don't keep this from him the way you kept your debut from your dad, Cassie."

"I won't. I'll tell them both. Just not until you decide."

"Alright."

"Thanks, Stephanie."

Later that night, after I'd been checked in medical to make sure I had no injuries that were undiscovered and I'd spent some time in the warm-up gym, I was ready for my match. Roman Reigns and The Family of Destruction were taking on The Wyatt family in an Inferno match. In order to win, one team had to eliminate all the members of the other team by setting the opposing team members on fire. As a competitor was set on fire, they were to report back to the locker room.

The Wyatt Family entered before The Family of Destruction and Roman Reigns. When we came out, Bray just kept staring at me. I kept myself between Roman and Dad with Kane behind me. Right after we entered the ring, it was set on fire. I was nervous. We were in there and I knew Roman could get hurt if I didn't protect him.

Harper and Rowan went straight for Dad and Kane so Roman and I went straight for Bray. Roman speared Bray and he went down. When Bray got back to his feet, I suplexed him, hoping I could get him close enough to the apron that his clothes would catch fire, but I had no luck. Bray performed a running bulldog on Roman and turned back to me, a demonic look in his eyes.

"You shouldn't fight destiny, Morgana. You belong with us."

I ran at him to clothesline him, but Erick Rowan got in my way and pushed me back halfway across the ring. Before Roman could get to Rowan, Kane chokeslammed Rowan onto the ropes, making his jumpsuit catch fire. He was the first elimination. Trainers pulled him from the ring from the outside to be extinguished and taken to the medical suite to be checked for injuries.

"The numbers are in favor of Roman Reigns and The Family of Destruction. Four on Two… unless Bray and Harper can come up with some impressive maneuvers, things aren't looking good for them," I heard JBL telling Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler.

I got up and turned back to Bray, only to have Harper try to knock me onto the ropes. It didn't work. Dad got in the way and Tombstoned Harper in the center of the ring. Roman was near the ropes going punch for punch with Bray. Kane came over to help me up and when he did, Harper used a drop toe hold on him to drop him onto the ropes, making his sleeve catch fire and eliminating him.

"HARPER ELIMINATED KANE! LUKE HARPER HAS ELIMINATED THE BIG RED MONSTER, KANE!" Jerry Lawler yelled from the announce table.

The flames grew in size by about two feet. Kane was pissed off. I knew it. I looked at Dad and he just nodded, confirming my suspicions.

Getting back to my feet, Dad and I went after Harper. When Dad went for a Big Right Hand on Harper, I did a sweep kick on him, and we really knocked him on his ass. He was seeing stars. Dad picked him up, getting ready to throw him onto the ropes to eliminate him. Unfortunately, Harper squirmed out of Dad's grip and knocked Dad onto the ropes before he could regain his footing. Dad was eliminated. Thankfully, Harper went right after him, his t-shirt being set on fire when Roman came behind him and speared him onto the flaming ropes.

Dad and Harper started fighting outside the ring. Dad put the flames on his ring attire out on his own immediately. Harper's fire went out after Dad Tombstoned him on the metal ramp. Harper didn't get back up. Dad looked back to me and gave me his signature thumb across the throat, he wanted me and Roman to finish Bray Wyatt.

I turned to Bray and found him staring back at me and Roman. His eyes looked dead. The look in them sent chills down my spine. I hated him and wanted to hurt him. He came running at Roman and I threw myself in the way, kicking him in the face with a Big Boot.

"That's for my Father!" I yelled at him.

He didn't get back up. I pounced on him and started punching him repeatedly. His face started bleeding and I still didn't stop beating him. Roman pulled me off of him, pushing me closer to the edge of the ring to give me some breathing room from Bray.

"Calm down, Baby Girl," he said to me.

Neither of us saw Bray come up behind Roman to push us both onto the ropes. We hit the ropes and Roman caught fire. In my panic, my power spread and protected him. He didn't get hurt. Me on the other hand, the fire didn't touch. The trainers pulled Roman from the ring and I could hear him fighting them to let him back in.

"She can't be left alone in there with that freak!"

"Roman! You're eliminated! Go to the locker room!" The head trainer told him.

"Bray Wyatt eliminated Roman Reigns! Morgana didn't catch fire! It's down to Bray Wyatt and Morgana!" JBL was exclaiming.

"You cheated there Morgana," Bray said to me.

"Prove it, Bray."

He ran at me, but I was furious. I was seeing blood everywhere in my rage. I still didn't know how he did it, but he had to have spied on me to find out my secrets. When he went to grab at me, I hit him with a roundhouse kick and grabbed his arm, climbing up on the ropes, which were still not burning me, and performed Old School.

"You can't burn me, Bray!"

Everyone could see of the two of us, he was the one who came into the ring soaking wet. There was no reason for me not to catch fire. I rolled away from him after Old School and took the moments he was dazed to try to steady my breathing. He came at me to try to clothesline me onto the rope again, but I ran at him, spearing him. When I hit him, I hit him back to the ropes. His gear caught fire.

"MORGANA HAS JUST BEAT BRAY WYATT IN AN INFERNO MATCH! MORGANA, DAUGHTER OF THE UNDERTAKER, HAS BEATEN BRAY WYATT!" Jerry Lawler was yelling from the announce table.

Bray was pulled from the ring and extinguished. Trainers took him to the medical suite as others came to extinguish the fire around the ring. I didn't wait. I walked through it and up the ramp. The WWE Universe went nuts.

When I got into the medical suite, Bray was being put down on an exam table. Before they could start checking him, I walked over to him and decked him so hard his eyes glazed over. The trainers pulled me off of him.

"If you _ever_ come near me without it being scripted again, Windham, I'll do worse than I did tonight!"

At this point, Joe came running in to check on me. He held me in his arms as he led me to the locker room where Dad and Kane were waiting. When we walked in, Dad looked at me with pride for the first time in over a year.

"I'm proud of you, Cassie."

"Me too, Cass. You taught him a lesson I doubt he'll ever forget," Glenn chimed in.

I went over to Dad and hugged him. It had been so long since we had been able to be around each other without fighting about me being in the WWE or me dating Joe or something else. The fact that he was here for me, on my side, _AND _proud of me made tonight even better than it already was.

"You should've seen the right hook she gave him in the medical suite before I could get to her. She made it clear he better back off," Joe told them.

Dad and Glenn looked at me impressed.

"Maybe you should be wrestling the guys," Glenn said.

"Maybe I should," I said. "I usually do anyway."

"Are you okay, Cassie? You spent a lot of time in the flames. Did they burn you?" Joe asked.

I laughed.

"Joe, you still don't get it. I can sit in the middle of an inferno, literally, and not burn. Why do you think you have no burns? I spread my power to you to keep you safe. I was too mad to burn. There was no way I could lose that match tonight," I replied.

"Cassie, that's cheating," Joe said.

"It is, and I don't care. He wasn't ever supposed to come after me. So I taught him a lesson my way. He wanted to hint he knew about me and my powers, I gave him a hint of what I could do. I'm not gonna hide in fear from him. If he wants to threaten me, I'm gonna fight."

"She's right, Joe. If she didn't she'd be hiding from him or at his mercy for the rest of her life," Glenn said.

Joe came and hugged me. Things were finally starting to look up. I was less scared because I didn't let Bray and his minions scare me into hiding. My life was mine to command. Now I just needed to do the same with Jonathan and Colby.


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter Twenty Two: Payback**

The day after Extreme Rules, Dean and AJ came out to start what would be the end of the storyline. I was excited. Stephanie and Paul were still in talks about me transferring to the men's division. They were impressed by the way I handled Bray Wyatt, especially since Stephanie knew why I was so set off by him and still saw the way I took control and made it clear I wanted him to leave me the hell alone. I hadn't been this excited about being part of the WWE in more than a year, since right after I had joined the roster. Stephanie was right, I was too strong for the Divas. I would really hurt them. I had hurt Brie, she was still out on injury after being introduced to Hell's Gate.

Roman and I were center ring, discussing our victory over The Wyatt Family. It was fun, nothing could bring me down. But Roman shocked me to my core.

"Morgana," he said, turning to me in the center of the ring. "You know how much I love you. You mean everything to me."

He got down on one knee and pulled a jewelry box out of his pocket.

"Will you be my wife?"

I stopped breathing. We had never discussed anything about the future. I could barely handle the present.

"_Breathe, Cassie,"_ Denise said in my head.

_Is this for real?_

"_You know he loves you."_

_But marriage?_

"_Cassie, he'd do anything for you."_

_I don't know what to do!_

"_Answer him, genius!"_

"Yes," I whispered.

He put the ring on my finger and kissed me. The gong went off and the lights went down. When they came back on, Dad was in the ring with us.

"You had better take very good care of my daughter, Roman Reigns. Or there won't be a rock that you can hide under that will keep you safe from the hell I will bring down on you," he said to Roman, while putting an arm protectively around my shoulders.

"_Sierra. Hotel. India. Echo. Lima. Delta. The Shield."_

This is when AJ and Dean broke in. They came in from the audience. AJ was still sporting black. Dean was glaring at me. I didn't care. He could go to hell for all I cared.

"Look, Dean! You're ex-friend is gonna marry a freak!" AJ said as she climbed over the barricade.

"Hey, Roman! I thought you had better taste than that, man!" Dean called out as he joined her and they started up the steps to the ring.

Dad looked at me and knew he had to go. I still didn't know why there was an in-ring proposal, but he knew this was storyline that he wasn't supposed to be involved in. At least until Dean opened his mouth.

"Oh look, Dean. You've scared The Phenom away," AJ said giggling.

Dad turned around and had her and Dean by the throats so fast I didn't see him move. AJ turned as pale as my character. She was terrified. Dean was struggling against Dad, but not getting anywhere.

"Do not mistake my disinterest in you pathetic mortals for fear, AJ Lee. I will take your soul to the darkest pit of hell for all of eternity if you cross me again. I have not forgotten your intentional injuries to my daughter. Do not think because I choose to leave that I will not choose to come back and destroy you both," he growled at her.

By this point, AJ was crying and nodding her head in understanding. I almost felt bad for her… At least until I remembered the scar near my eye. Then all shades of pity disappeared and I wanted him to chokeslam her through the ring.

Dad let them go and AJ fell to her knees crying. Dean looked like he was going to retaliate against Dad, but I got between him and Dad before Roman could and just shook my head. I wasn't going to let him drag Dad into this.

"I don't think so, Ambrose. You will not attack my father."

"I'm not afraid of you, Morgana. I've hurt you before."

"And every time you have, it has been at the expense of me injuring you. For every injury you have given me, I have given you at least one in return. Remember that."

He gave an almost imperceptible nod that only I noticed. In response, I shook my head no. He wasn't going to out himself as a rapist on live television.

"You talk big, Morgana, but I know deep down, you're nothing but a scared little girl."

"I'm not afraid of you, Dean Ambrose. Or your little psychopath girlfriend over there."

"You're calling _me_ a psychopath? The girl who's all doom and gloom? Death and demons?"

"Yes."

AJ started laughing.

"You're all big and bad with my former best friend at your side to be your muscle."

"I took you on when Roman was still at your side."

"And she would have beaten you if Seth and I hadn't interfered, too, Dean," Roman said.

"Shut up, Reigns," AJ said.

"Watch it, Girl. I don't usually hit girls, but for you, I might make an exception to the rule."

Dean stepped in front of AJ.

"You'll have to get through me to get to my girl, Roman."

"No big deal," Roman said cracking his knuckles. "One Superman Punch ought to do it."

Dean got in Roman's face and AJ came and got in mine. We were all arguing about how much we hated each other. It went on for about three minutes before The Authority came out.

"Alright, enough bickering!" Paul yelled. "This was such a joyous moment. Our own Roman Reigns and Morgana declaring their love after such a hard-fought victory against The Wyatt Family last night. Young love, there's nothing like it."

"No, there isn't," said Stephanie. "Which is why, next month at Payback, the four of you are going to be in a four man mixed tag team match. The winners will not only become the couple of the year of the WWE, but they will also win both the WWE Championship and Diva's Championship titles. It will be a Last Chance match. AJ Lee and Dean Ambrose, if you lose to Roman Reigns and Morgana, neither of you will get another shot at those titles as long as Roman and Morgana hold them."

"But, we're not going to make the WWE Universe wait a whole month to see some action between the four of you. In fact, we're here to tell the four of you that tonight, Morgana will face AJ Lee and Roman Reigns will face Dean Ambrose," said Paul. "Have fun!"

"And congratulations, Morgana and Roman!" Stephanie exclaimed as they left the stage.

Roman and I went backstage and got ready for our matches, avoiding Dean and AJ. When we got backstage, I ran into Seth and started shaking. Roman noticed.

"Watch it, _Morgana_," Seth said as he pushed me away, hands on my chest.

Roman got between us really quick.

"Touch her again, Seth and I'll break your two-toned head in half," he warned him.

"Relax, Roman. She was in my way and she needed to move."

"Touch my girl again, and I will _end you_, Seth. Plain and simple. If you so much as look at her the wrong way, I will end you. Just stay the hell away from her," he shoved Seth away from the two of us.

Seth looked at the two of us with a suspicious look. I don't think he could believe Roman had picked me over his Shield brethren even after all this time.

"Whatever. She's not worth my time. She's pathetic," Seth said as he walked away.

Roman turned to go after him, but I grabbed him. I was nervous, not just about the trouble he would get into if he got into another fist fight with him in the locker room, but what Seth would tell him if they got into a bad enough argument. Would it slip out that he had helped Dean hurt me? Would he accidentally admit he was part of the reason I nearly killed myself?

"Don't. He's not worth risking the trouble," I said to Roman as I turned him back to me and pulled his face to look down at me. "Besides, I want to talk to you. Alone."

We walked back to the locker room I typically went and hid in. Since most of the Divas were hanging out with each other or the Superstars who were getting ready for matches at that point, I knew we would be alone as long as one of the backstage interviewers with a camera crew didn't come looking for us. I figured we'd have a little time before they found us even if they did.

He sat down on one of the benches and pulled me into his lap, snuggling his face into my neck as he wrapped his arms around me. I pulled the engagement ring off of my finger and put it in his hand.

"Why didn't you tell me about the in-character proposal, Joe?" I asked him.

He looked in his hand for a minute. As I watched his face, I saw a mix of shock and hurt, as if I'd hurt him by giving him the ring back. He just looked at the ring for a minute before he took a deep breath and exhaled.

"Because I didn't want it to just be in-character, Cassie. This is for real. Not just for some storyline. I love you. And I know you're scared to take things beyond where they are physically with me, and I'm fine with that, I don't care. I don't care if we don't go any further for years, honestly, but I love you more than anything else in this world and I want you to be my wife. It was my idea to do the in-ring proposal, not The Authority."

It was my turn to stare at the ring. That little ring could change so much in both of our lives. He was nearly nine years older than me, but age was a number. My existence proved that. I don't think Dad had ever been with anyone even remotely close to his age in his adult life. But could I really accept his proposal knowing how badly I was messed up in the head? Was it fair to him?

"Joe, do you realize what you're getting into? You say you're okay with our relationship being celibate now, but let's face it, you have lots of girls and women, in and out of the locker room, throwing themselves at you. Can you really say you can stay with me, not having sex because I'm too messed up in the head to be touched, knowing you have so many options to have your physical needs met?

"Not to mention how messed up I am in the head that we bonded over the fact that my dead best friend appeared to you, scared you, and dropped my room key in your feet because I nearly hacked myself to pieces? I haven't slipped back there and hurt myself since then, but I can't promise I never will. I stopped for five years, Joe. _Five years_. And when I snapped it came so naturally to me it was like never stopped. Could you handle knowing if I went back to that dark place you might come home to find me unconscious in a pool of blood?

"You've seen my powers go on the fritz when I'm upset. Are you willing to deal with all of this for the rest of your life? Are you willing to face the fact that if we ever have children, they will almost certainly have some degree of at least some of my powers? Being with me as your wife isn't like being with someone who's normal. I guess it wasn't fair of me not to warn you of that months ago."

I was staring at my hands, struggling not to cry. I wanted to say yes. I loved Joe so much and wanted to be with him forever. Being with him made me feel safer than I had in a long time, but it wouldn't have been fair of me to say yes knowing that I didn't warn him of what he was getting himself into for the rest of his life.

Joe pulled me closer to him. I snuggled into his chest, needing to feel him. I knew he loved me. He had put up with me as a neurotic mess. He had faced my father to stay at my side. He had helped me face my father when my father was raging. I didn't know many other people who would have the courage or the love to do something like facing The Undertaker, The Phenom, The Deadman, and tell him no. Joe did that for me.

"Baby Girl," he started speaking into my hair, "I would face all of that over and over again if I had to. I just wish you didn't have to. But since you do, I don't want you to face it alone. I'm here for you, Baby Girl. Forever."

Joe put me on the bench next to him. He got down on one knee in front of him. He grabbed my hand and held the ring out in front of me again.

"So, Cassidy Janiece Calaway, will you be my wife, in-ring and out?" he asked me.

I started to cry. I couldn't help it. The tears finally overwhelmed my self-control. I nodded.

"Yes," I got out as the tears flowed.

He put the ring back on me and got up, kissing me again. After sitting back down, he pulled me into his lap again. I snuggled him some more as he rubbed circles on the small of my back.

"We're in this forever, Baby Girl. You and me. Together. I don't care what it takes. I want to be with you."

"I love you, Leati Joseph Anoa'i," I whispered into his chest.

"I love you too, Cass."

We stayed like that for about fifteen minutes before I realized I should get up and fix my Morgana make-up. It was a good thing I did. Right after I got back to him, Renee Young walked in with one of the backstage camera crews looking for an interview.

"So, we're live with Roman Reigns and Morgana," she said facing the camera before turning to face us. "Morgana, you seemed more than a little shocked when Roman proposed earlier in the ring. What is your reaction?"

"He has gotten himself into a great deal of darkness for his future. I welcome him to the darkness of my life," I said, keeping in character and realizing that it was true out of character, too.

"Roman, how do you feel about your ex-best friend interrupting your happy moment?"

"Baby Girl, I'm not even worried. When Morgana and I beat AJ and Dean, this will all be over. And we will beat AJ and Dean."

"You sound fairly confident. Are you as confident in your victories, Morgana?"

"Renee, I don't fear the posers that are AJ Lee and Dean Ambrose. They think they know the darkside, but they haven't seen anything yet."

"Any thoughts on your matches tonight?"

"I'm going to crush Dean. He is no real match for me. His victories when I was still part of The Shield were, after all, in large part due to my help."

"And AJ is terrified. Of me, of my father. She's in no real mindset to fight tonight. It's a shame. It will be an easy victory. Almost not even worth going to the ring for."

Renee Young turned back to the camera.

"Well you heard it here. Neither Roman Reigns nor Morgana see any competition in their opponents for Payback, Dean Ambrose and AJ Lee. Back to you at ringside."

Renee Young left and a few minutes later, Dad walked into the locker room.

"Cassie, was that proposal from your boyfriend real?" he asked, looking down at us as I snuggled Joe.

I stood up and looked up into my father's eyes.

"Yes. I didn't know it then, but he told me when we came back here. He meant every word of it. It was his idea."

Dad was torn. He wanted me to be happy. I could see that. But he was also very overprotective of me and he knew some of what I'd gone through since becoming part of the WWE. He turned to Joe.

"I thought you weren't going to rush her into anything?" he asked him with sarcasm in his voice.

"I'm not," Joe said standing up and looking Dad in the eye. "This proposal is me telling Cassie that no matter what, I want to be here and love her. I explained to her and now I'll explain to you. I don't care what it means to have her as my wife. I just know that I love her and will do anything for her. If that means dealing with her going through hard times and no intimacy, I'm willing to do it. She means that much to me. I don't want to hurt your daughter, Mark. This wasn't my way of trying to tell her, 'marry me so we can go to bed.' This was my way of saying, 'I'm devoted to you like I've never been devoted to anyone else and I'll do whatever it takes to take care of you.' I'm in this for the good and bad. If I wasn't, do you think I would still be at her side?"

Dad just looked at him in shock. I, on the other hand, couldn't help but look at him with love and pride. Again, he was standing up to my dad for me. He wanted me, no matter what it meant. And it was costing him in ways he didn't even understand for him to do it.

"You really mean that, don't you?" Dad finally asked him.

"Yes, I do, Sir. Your daughter is everything to me. I love her and I want to make her my wife and love her for the rest of our lives."

Dad turned and looked at me.

"Cassie, does he make you happy? Do you really love him?" Dad asked me.

I looked from Joe to Dad. These were the two men who meant more to me than anything. They left me more conflicted than anyone or anything in the world ever could.

"Yeah, Dad. I'm as close to happy as I've been in a long time with him. He makes me feel safe."

Dad looked between me and Joe. It was like he was seeing me for the first time. I wasn't a little girl anymore. It was bittersweet for me. I wanted him to see me as a woman, but it was strange for him to really look at me as a woman.

"If you're happy, I'm happy, Cassie. I give the two of you my blessing. Welcome to the family, Joe," he said as he pulled Joe into a hug.

My thoughts of facing Dean and worrying about Seth were gone. I jumped into my father's arms like I had as a kid. I was beyond happy. I hadn't given thought to how he would react off-camera, but I wasn't sure he would actually accept Joe as part of the family so easily.

"Thank you, Mark. This means a lot to me. And obviously to Cassie," Joe said laughing as I kissed my father's cheek.

"Thank you, Dad."

"Just remember. I'm giving my blessing, but if you hurt my daughter, I will hurt you," Dad said.

I rolled my eyes.

"Mark, if I hurt your daughter, I would expect no less than you and Gunner to hunt me down and kill me," Joe said.

Dad nodded at me with a grin on his face while pointing at Joe.

"I think I like him. We're on the same page," he said.

The matches between Morgana and AJ and Roman and Dean that night were jokes. AJ tapped out within three minutes to the cross armbreaker. Dean was out cold in five to the Superman Punch.

When we taped Smackdown that week, we were put in a handicap match Morgana and Roman Reigns vs AJ Lee and The Shield. After Charles Robinson came and told me that I groaned. I was gonna be in the ring with Dean and Seth. All of a sudden, I wished I had called out sick.

The match went fairly easy. I didn't even get in the ring. The match went off-script, but the fans ate it up and it was "good for business" so The Authority didn't say anything about it only lasting ten minutes.

Dean and Roman started the match. Dean did a running bulldog on Roman and in return, he got a Samoan drop. When Dean got back to a vertical base, Roman speared him. Roman did some showboating as Dean lay in the center of the ring gripping his ribs. Finally, about nine minutes into the match, Dean made it to his corner to tag in Seth, and that was where the match ended almost instantly.

Seth did a dive roll into the ring and punched Roman in the jaw. While Roman was down, Seth did some showboating of his own. As Roman got back to a vertical base, Seth came to our corner and kissed me. When he turned around, Roman Superman Punched him, picked him up and performed a Samoan drop. The ref counted Seth for the pin and the match ended. I came into the ring to Roman and he put his arms around me, nuzzling my hair.

"Are you okay, Baby Girl," he whispered to me.

I nodded into his chest, but I was shaking. We left the ring and Roman went storming to Paul raging as I had when The Wyatt Family interrupted us the day after Wrestlemania. He barged into The Authority's office, since both Paul and Stephanie were there, slamming the door behind us.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS HE DOING KISSING HER?!" Roman shouted at them.

"Joe, calm down, please," I said, putting my hand on his arm.

Paul and Stephanie looked up at us and I didn't think they knew how far things had gone. I wasn't sure Seth was supposed to kiss me on the lips. My thoughts started racing.

"He kissed her?" Paul asked Joe.

"Cassie, are you okay?" Stephanie, knowing what Paul didn't, asked me.

"I'll be okay, Stephanie. I'm a little shaken up."

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'HE KISSED HER?' WAS HE NOT SUPPOSED TO?" Joe kept yelling.

"He wasn't supposed to do more than kiss her on the cheek or maybe caress her cheek. We actually told him we preferred it if he just taunted her by blowing kisses from a foot or two away to piss you off," Paul said.

I knew that was Stephanie's idea. I knew Paul would have had Seth kiss me, but he didn't know what I'd gone through. Stephanie did. Looking at her, I mouthed a silent thank you to her. She nodded her acknowledgement of my gratitude.

"I'M GONNA KILL THAT SON OF A BITCH!"

"NO!" I shouted.

Everyone just stared at me. Joe finally stopped raging. Paul was shocked that I was yelling. Stephanie was confused.

"What do you mean, 'no,' Cassie? He had no right to touch you!" Joe exclaimed.

"No, he didn't, but it's over, I'll be fine and he's an asshole. There's no reason to keep this up. I don't want this. Please, Joe, just calm down. I need you calm more than I need you raging."

That got to him.

"You'll have a chance to wrap this up, Joe. On Monday, we'll put Seth Rollins in a match versus Roman Reigns. It will be a no DQ match. Don't kill him, but teach him a lesson," Paul said.

I panicked, but I had to hide it.

"It is what's best for business. Considering the stipulations of Payback, we can't just let this storyline go. You can end it at Raw," Stephanie said. "But I think it would be best if the two of you went back to the hotel. I think Cassie's had a long night and could use some R&R."

"Thanks," I said.

Joe nodded at them and led me out. We split up to go shower and change. When I got out of the shower in the locker room I usually hid out in, I wasn't alone.

"So, Cassie, why didn't you tell us you killed an unborn child that would have belonged to one of us?" Dean said backing me into a corner.

My panic skyrocketed. And then I realized how they must have known. Bray. He must have told Seth and Dean.

"Who said you could kill our baby, Cassie?" Seth asked.

I wanted to scream for help, but my voice wouldn't be more than a whisper.

"You guys need to get away from me. Joe will be here any minute to meet me," I said in a whisper.

Seth stroked my face. I started shaking.

"We're gonna make you pay for what you did to that baby, Cassie. You had no right."

"That would have made one of us a father," Dean said.

"And proved your both rapists," I said weakly.

Dean punched me in the stomach. I doubled over in pain. The pyrokinesis overpowered my fear and his gloves caught fire. While they were distracted, I ran. I told Rodney to go tell Joe I was taking a cab back to the hotel and to meet me. I left without him.

When I got to the hotel room I went right to the bathroom and started slicing my ribs again. The cuts were deep and bleeding a lot. I didn't care. They were wide. I sat on the toilet watching the blood as it ran down my stomach, tainting my pale flesh red. I wasn't in the hotel for that long before Joe came bursting in and found me in the bathroom.

"Baby Girl! What happened to you while we were changing?" he asked as he wrestled the straight-edged blade away from me.

Finally, he got the blade away from me and put me in the tub, where he turned on the cold water to rinse the blood from me. He grabbed a wash cloth to help wipe off the blood that had dried onto my skin before turning off the water and, using a towel, put pressure on the cuts to try to stop the bleeding. It took almost an hour, but it stopped, and when it did, he helped me to disinfect and bandage them before ordering me a bloody steak so I could start the process of healing.

After I ate and he was sure I had more energy than when he first barged in, he looked me in the eyes and I could see pain in his. My instincts were telling me I didn't deserve him. He deserved better than me. I needed to hurt myself to save him from me. But my heart was aching for him.

"Cassie, what happened to you? You weren't so far gone when I left you, so what happened when I left you to go shower?" he asked, pain in his voice.

I hated that I had disappointed him. It was somehow worse with him than when I disappointed Dad. Maybe because he didn't have to stay by my side and he could change his mind.

"I'm sorry," I said in a small voice.

"I know you're sorry, Baby Girl. But, please, talk to me. I want to help you," he pleaded with me.

I looked at him. I could see how hurt he was that I had run away and hurt myself again. It had been months since I had last slipped up. At least I hadn't lost consciousness this time.

"I don't mean to hurt you, Joe."

"I'll be fine. I just want to help you."

"What if you can't? I'm really broken."

He got up and hugged me. It took extra effort, but I didn't start to shake.

"I'm not going anywhere Cassie. I meant that. Please, let me in."

I looked up at him. My resolve was starting to shatter.

"I saw them."

"Who?"

"The men who raped me. I saw them tonight. They knew about the abortion. They told me I had no right and I'd pay for killing the baby."

His arms tightened around me. I knew he was struggling not to rage, and it made it easier for me to calm down and give into his comfort. He really was trying for me.

"Cassie, who are they?"

"I'm not ready to talk about that, Joe."

He sighed in defeat. He knew it was hard enough for me to admit I had been attacked.

"But I need to tell you something."

"Anything."

I took a deep breath before I lost my nerve.

"After Survivor Series wasn't the first time it happened. And it wasn't a stranger-rape. I know the men who raped me."

I could feel the anger boiling off of him. Still, he tried to hold it in for my sake. He knew how vulnerable I was.

"How many times have they attacked you? Why won't you tell me who they are?"

"I'm not ready to tell you who they are. I'm not sure I was ready to talk about this at all yet. But it happened one other time."

I didn't want to tell him it happened in Boston. If I did he'd figure out it was Jonathan Good and Colby Lopez. Joe wasn't stupid and they went bragging about teaching me a lesson before he found me bleeding in Boston, the same way he found me the night it happened the second time.

"Is this the last of it? Other than who they are? Is there anything else about you being attacked you haven't told me?"

"No. This is it. I'm sorry, Joe. I know you want to protect me and you want to know who they are so you can go take care of them, but I can't talk about it. I just can't."

He held me tighter.

"You will talk when you're ready. I'm not gonna push you. I just wish I could do more than pick up the pieces."

That night, I was too scared to sleep alone. Joe stayed in my room all night holding me. It was the first time we'd stayed in one bed all night. I felt really bad. Even with him in there, I kept waking up screaming.

The next few weeks went by in a blur. I had to focus my energy on healing the cuts I'd made, so I didn't push for matches. Joe had matches, but he plowed through everyone. The Authority really did seem to be giving him the push to become the next Phenom like Dad. Just like they were doing to me. The Friday before Payback, Paul and Stephanie called me and asked me to fly to Connecticut to the WWE Headquarters. I hadn't been there since I signed my contract.

I got there and was brought right into a conference room where I found Paul, Stephanie, and none other than Vince McMahon, a man I had had my fair share of issues with growing up. Vince had been known, on occasion, to use me and Denise to motivate our fathers into doing what he wanted for business. Needless to say, I wasn't his biggest fan.

"Sit down, Cassidy," Mr. McMahon said to me after I closed the door behind me.

I sat down as far away from him as I could. Looking at Stephanie, she just gave me a hand gesture to be patient. I nodded and looked back to her father.

"My daughter tells me you've come to her about fighting on the men's roster. Is this right?" Mr. McMahon asked me.

"Yes, Sir. Since my debut last year, I've only fought three Divas. Most of my matches have actually been against Superstars. From what I've seen from the audiences, they seem to like it a lot. So, I approached Stephanie about vacating the title after Payback and fighting on the men's roster just before Extreme Rules."

"But she tells me you don't want to drop the title to AJ Lee?" Mr. McMahon continued.

"No, Sir. AJ Lee and I have had issues inside and outside of the ring, I'm not comfortable dropping the title to her at Payback. But, that aside, The Authority have been pushing Roman Reigns as an unbeatable force in the locker room. This is something else the WWE Universe has been eating up like candy. If I drop the title to AJ at Payback, then he has to drop his title to Dean Ambrose at Payback. It would ruin the reputations The Authority has worked very hard to make for Morgana and the post-Shield Roman Reigns to have them lose their belts to Ambrose and Lee. As far as I can see, my personal issues aside completely, having us drop our titles for the sake of me competing with the Superstars instead of Divas may actually be worse for business than just having me vacate the title at Raw on Monday."

I looked at Stephanie. She was smiling. She gave me an almost imperceptible triumphant fist pump. Paul was smiling from ear to ear.

"Well, it seems that you have considered your request from our side of things just as much from your side," Mr. McMahon said.

"I have tried. I may have had some issues following the rules when I first started, but Stephanie and I talked and since then, I have tried to do what was best for the company above all else."

"She has, Dad. Cassie has been very good for business even when she didn't like the directions things were going. She took what Windham did in stride and gave me the idea to make the match at Extreme Rules The Family of Destruction and Roman Reigns versus The Wyatt Family, even though she didn't want to deal with Windham. When things have gone awry with her character, she has helped us come up with good storylines to help us resolve them."

"Paul, do you have anything to add?" Mr. McMahon asked.

"I think the kid is a genuine talent. She's too good for the Diva locker room. Other than Natalie, the Divas are afraid of her because she's too strong for them. And she has held her own pretty damn well with the Superstars. I think this is a good idea."

"And her vacating the title instead of dropping it at Payback?" Mr. McMahon asked.

"Cassie's right, Dad. We put a lot of work into building up Morgana and Roman Reigns to where they are now. If we make them lose, we'll be back to square one."

"Let her vacate the title. We've started building them up to be an unstoppable force. Roman can be the one to come close to one day breaking Undertaker's Streak at Wrestlemania with a streak of his own. Morgana is already making history. If we put the breaks on it now, who knows how long it will take for us to get them back on track."

Mr. McMahon stayed silent for a few minutes. I just kept looking between the three of them. When I looked at Paul and Stephanie, they kept showing me they were on my side with small hand gestures and smiles. Mr. McMahon's face was unreadable. Finally, after what seemed like forever, he made a decision.

"Alright, Cassie. Because you made a case that is more based on the business affects you dropping the title would have than personal feelings, you can vacate your title on Monday. We will give you a six month test period on the Superstars' roster. If you handle it without major injuries, we will consider the switch permanent. However, if you suffer any major injuries because you are fighting on the men's roster instead of the women's in that period, we will switch you back to the Divas' roster. Do we have an understanding?"

I struggled to keep my excitement to myself.

"Yes, Sir."

"Good. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have another appointment to get to. I'm sure my daughter and her husband can finish handling this," he said as he got up and left.

"Thank you!" I exclaimed when he left the office.

"Here, sign this," Paul said, handing me a contract.

"What is it?" I asked.

"The contract with the terms he just spelled out for you. I had it drawn up yesterday. I knew you'd convince him, and this way, he can't screw you," Paul explained.

I looked over the contract quickly and signed it when I saw it said exactly what Vince had said.

"Welcome to the men's division, Cassie!" Stephanie said.

"Thank you guys!"

"Don't forget you promised Stephanie you'd tell Mark and Joe yourself. I hope you'll do that before Sunday?" Paul asked.

"I'll do it tonight," I said. "I can't believe this is actually gonna happen!"

I jumped up and hugged Paul and Stephanie before I left the office. When I got outside the building I called Joe and asked him to call Dad to invite him out to dinner tonight so we could talk. Joe agreed and I drove back into New York to catch my flight back to Joe.

That night at dinner I was so excited I was surprised I didn't fall out of my seat. The three of us went out to a nice Italian restaurant to talk. After we ordered our meals, Joe finally asked what happened at the meeting.

"Well, I was called in to headquarters today because I had asked Stephanie McMahon about making a change with my character. It's a major change, one that hasn't really happened in at least a decade, but I want to do it. I know I can do it, and I really hope you guys back me on this," I started explaining.

They looked at each other with a nervous look.

"What change did you ask them to make, Cassie?" Dad asked.

"Well, I've barely fought any Divas since I started last year. I'm almost always fighting the Superstars," I explained.

"Okay," Joe said.

"Last month, the morning of Extreme Rules, I asked Stephanie to consider letting me vacate the Diva's title to compete against the Superstars. She said it needed to be considered."

"And what happened today, Cassidy?" Dad asked, obviously fearing where this was going.

"I vacate the title on Monday!"

"What?!" Dad and Joe exclaimed in unison.

It wasn't the reaction I was hoping for.

"Guys, really, I want this. I'm bored being the Diva's champion. Other than AJ and Nattie, none of the Divas are willing to challenge me because they're scared of me. Everyone knows I'm too strong to compete against them. And you've all said maybe I should compete against the guys."

They stared at each other in silence. I had them. They all had said that. At one point or another, Dad, Glenn, and even Joe, had suggested I'd do better facing the guys.

"I'm going to be under contract for a six month probationary period. As long as I don't get any major injuries, it'll become permanent. McMahon's words. Paul even had it put in a contract to make sure he can't go back on it."

"Are you sure about this, Cassie?" Dad asked.

"Yeah, I mean, the guys can be brutal," Joe said.

"Yes, I'm sure, Dad. And I know this, Joe. I've suffered the bruises and broken bones before. I want to do this. Please support me in this."

Joe sighed.

"You know I'm behind you. I just don't want you to get hurt."

"I know. I love you."

"I love you too, Cassie."

"Dad?"

Dad shook his head and looked at me.

"I just hope that you know what you're doing, but fine. I'm behind you. At least you told me before you went on live tv and vacated the title."

"I promised Stephanie when I asked her that I would tell you guys before we went through with anything. I just wanted to wait until they made a decision. I saw no point in bringing this up until I had an answer," I started. "And Dad, you need to let my debut go. I really wasn't supposed to debut that night. I was supposed to have two months to get ready and tell you before I did. I was a last minute sub for an injured Diva. Nobody knew the WWE Universe would react the way they did to me that first night."

We celebrated my upcoming debut. It was a big step up for me. We had a good time and before long, we were going our separate ways.

On Sunday, I was excited. It would be my last match against AJ. It would be my last match against a Diva for six months. Hopefully it would just be my last match against a Diva period. Joe and I got up and went for a run before breakfast. We had started running together months before, but since he came back to the hotel to find me bleeding after Raw, we started running together at least twice a day.

At the arena that night, I was too excited for anyone to bring me down. I got ready for my match and met Roman. We entered after Dean and AJ and we were ready for an all-out brawl. The night before we had talked about it. There was no way Dean and AJ would just give up their chance at the titles so easily. Of course, AJ didn't know that her being deprived of a shot at the title might only last 24 hours until I vacated the title on Raw. Nobody was being told about that until it was announced live on Monday.

When the bell rang, I started the match with AJ. She tried to play things slick. When the ref had turned to hand one of the ring hands mine and Roman's belts, she slipped a ring on her finger, with the stone on the inside of her hand, like she had when she tore up my eye. As she went to slap me in the face, I grabbed her hand and twisted it behind her back until she fell to her knees. I straddled her from behind as I pulled the ring off of her with my free hand and then slammed her, face-first, into the mat. While she lay on the mat not moving, I went to her corner and threw her ring in Dean's face.

"Next trick like that, and I'll break your girlfriend's arm," I said to him.

As I walked away Dean followed me into the ring. I knew he would. So when he put his hands on my waist, I reached up and grabbed his neck and dropped to the mat, bringing him down with me. He hit his face on my shoulder and rolled onto the mat next to AJ. I got up and kicked him out of the ring, onto the floor.

I went back to AJ and went to pick her up, but she raked my eyes, leaving them watering. She kicked me in the ribs before performing a bulldog on me. Just like Dad does in his matches, I sat boltright up. She staggered away from me and I got back to my feet. I grabbed her and I chokeslammed her, covering her for the pin. When the ref hit two, Dean came and kicked me in the ribs with his boots. Pulling AJ out from under me.

Still holding my ribs, I did the only thing I could do at that time. I got up and made my way to my corner. After I tagged Roman in, I slid off the apron, needing a few minutes to breathe. One of the trainers came over to check on me while I watched Roman spear Dean.

"Are you okay?"

"I think so. He kicked me in the same spot she had."

"Let me check to make sure you didn't break any ribs," the trainer said.

I held my breath to keep from having a panic attack on live television as the trainer started poking my ribs. After a minute he stopped.

"No broken ribs. Are you sure you wanna finish this? You've had broken ribs before."

"If they're not broken I just need a minute to catch my breath. I'll be fine. Thanks."

The trainer went back by the announce table and I climbed back on the apron. Roman was punching Dean over and over again. Looking at him, he was focused on nothing but beating Dean Ambrose into oblivion. He didn't see when AJ climbed into the ring to attack him from behind. Luckily for him, I did. Unluckily for AJ she didn't see me.

When she went to kick him, I grabbed her ankle and flipped her away from him, knocking her to the mat. She tried to get away from me and I put her into the Hell's Gate submission move. Since we weren't the legal men in the ring, her tapping didn't mean anything. Finally, the ref came and broke my hold on her, but AJ was out cold. I went back to the apron and Roman came over to check on me.

"What was that with the trainer?"

"Just making sure Dean didn't break my ribs," I told him. "I'm fine. Pay attention. Dean's getting back up."

Roman turned around just as Dean tried to punch him. He grabbed his hand and smiled at him as he shook his head no. He pushed him by his wrist and Dean flew across the ring. Roman turned and gave me a kiss before he went back to Dean.

Dean was already back on his feet by the time Roman got to him. He punched Roman in the jaw and Roman just rubbed his jaw as he continued smiling at him. I knew that Dean wasn't phasing him.

"Morgana's nothing but a whore, man! You left your boys for a ho!" Dean yelled at him.

It was the wrong thing for Dean to say, but Dean didn't realize it until it was too late. Roman grabbed him by his legs and pulled him to the mat, punching him in his stomach repeatedly. Dean stayed down, but Roman got up, roaring, and calling for the Superman punch. Locked and loaded, when Dean got up, Roman hit him with the punch. Before Dean hit the ground, Roman lifted him on his shoulders and hit him with the Samoan drop before he covered him for the pin. Dean didn't even try to kick out.

Seth tried to come break up the pin, but by the time he got to the bottom of the ramp, I was waiting for him. He looked at me and grinned. Dean had already lost.

"Do you wanna play?" He taunted me.

"No. I wanna torch you," I said as I grinned at him, lifting my hand, and calling fire down onto his vest.

He started screaming and I speared him. The fire went out as he hit the ground. His head ricocheted off the ramp and his eyes rolled into the back of his head. He was out cold. Whether it was from shock or the head injury, I didn't know or care.

I turned and climbed back into the ring. Roman had kicked Dean out of the ring and he was being loaded onto a stretcher by the trainers. The referee handed us back our title belts and held our hands up in victory as Lillian Garcia announced us as the winners. When the referee let our hands go, Roman kissed me in the middle of the ring before we made our way backstage. There was no better way to end my reign as a Diva's Champion.


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter Twenty Three: Switching Rosters**

**A/N: Sorry this took so long to do, I've been really busy lately. I'll try to post more often, promise!**

The following night I sat in the locker room and nobody that hadn't been told at the meeting or by me at the dinner knew about my moving to the men's roster. It was surreal to me as I got in the zone to go out and vacate my title. Dad was there and said he would stay for the entire show to support me. Stephanie and Triple H were going to announce Morgana at the beginning of the show. That's when I would go out and announce to the entire WWE Universe that I was vacating my title to wrestle on the men's roster. My hands wouldn't stop shaking, but I didn't regret my choice.

As I waited in the gorilla position, I heard Stephanie and Triple H announce they had a big announcement from a Diva that would change the face of the WWE Universe. I could hear the crowd chanting "what?" as they had picked up years ago from Stone Cold Steve Austin. Then my music started. Just as I was about to make my entrance, Roman ran over to me and followed me out. Together, we made our way to the ring, where I took the microphone from one of the assistants at ringside.

Looking around at the crowd, I saw looks of mixed reactions. Some people looked confused, as though they were worried Roman and I were breaking up. Others looked like they were worried I may have turned heel. Still, the WWE Universe went quiet, something they did for few Divas or Superstars in the business.

"For the last eighteen months, I have been the Diva's Champion with the exception of the less than 24 hours where Brie Bella took the title from me. But I have decided it is not fair for me to be the Diva's Champion.

"Since I have debuted, I have fought less than five Divas. I have seriously injured a few of them when I have. Brie Bella is still hurt from her rematch with me. There is only one Diva I have fought who hasn't been seriously injured by me and, like her, I am the daughter of a wrestling legend. Natalya is the only Diva who has been a strong enough opponent that I haven't hurt her. Most of the other Divas are actually afraid to face me. Based on this and the fact that I have been put in more matches with Superstars than Divas, I am vacating the Diva's Championship tonight."

The crowd went crazy and I had to stop. There were chants of "No! No! No!" as well as other protests from the crowd. Finally, Roman took the mic from me.

"Listen up! She's not done talking!" He shouted.

I'm not sure if it was his reputation that scared them or what, but after a minute, the crowd quieted down. Even, Jerry Lawler, Michael Cole, and JBL, who had all exploded when I made the announcement calmed themselves. Roman gave me the mic back and an encouraging nod.

"No, I will no longer be the Diva's Champion, but don't think I'm leaving the WWE. As of tonight, I will be switching from the Divas division to the Superstars. I will be fighting the men from now on and, in order to do that, I will vacate my Diva's title."

Everyone went crazy again, but this time, they weren't angry. This time they were cheering my announcement. Jerry, Michael, and JBL were going nuts on commentary. I took off the replica belt that was around my waist under my leather duster, since my actual title belt was mine to keep and still in my hotel room, and handed it to Stephanie McMahon. When I turned back to Roman, he looked happy for me, happier than he did when I made the initial announcement.

The lights went out and the gong rang. Dad's music started, but I knew he was coming before the gong went off. The temperature in the arena dropped twenty degrees. He came out from backstage with Kane and they made their way to the ring, to stand at my side. The family was all here and the crowd was loving it. It was a show of support for Morgana's big switch.

Not long after the show of support, new music started blaring. It was Alberto Del Rio. He came out from backstage and he looked pissed off. Dad and Kane tried to shield me from him, but I didn't let them. I stood my ground. This was my choice, it was my fight. I wasn't going to let him make me run and hide.

"Do you think this little girl should be fighting with the men?" He directed his question to Triple H as he entered the ring.

"I'm as good as any of the men in the locker room, Del Rio. I've fought The Shield and The Wyatts and won," I said to him defiantly.

"You heard her," said Triple H.

"Her proposal was carefully considered before it was approved, Alberto. This wasn't an irrational decision. Morgana is on probation on the Superstars roster for six months," Stephanie said. "This is what's best for business. The WWE Universe loves seeing Undertaker's daughter fighting the Superstars."

"So she is getting special treatment because of her father?" Del Rio asked.

"No. She's getting this shot because she earned it," Triple H replied. "Morgana has proven that she has the skill and heart of a true WWE Champion."

"She's just a little girl! She doesn't belong fighting the men!" Del Rio said.

"Why don't you put your money where your mouth is, Del Rio?" Roman asked.

"Stay out of this, Reigns," he practically spit at him.

"No, I'm with Roman, Del Rio. You talk a lot about why I shouldn't be fighting with the men. Why don't you take me on tonight?"

Del Rio was livid that I dared to call him out. Dad and Kane were trying to hide their amusement while trying not to let their urge to protect me overpower them. Triple H was laughing at my challenge.

"I think that's a good idea, Morgana," he said, trying to keep a straight face. "Del Rio, go get ready. Tonight, you have a match with Morgana."

Del Rio rolled out of the ring muttering in Spanish about how unfair it was he was being lowered to facing a little girl. He muttered all the way up the ramp. I turned to Triple H and Stephanie, who were now laughing freely in the ring.

"Good luck tonight, Morgana," Stephanie said to me.

They were about to leave the ring when new music started.

"_Sierra. Hotel. India. Echo. Lima. Delta. The Shield."_

From the audience, AJ, Dean and Seth descended towards the ring. I didn't care. I didn't have to fight AJ or Dean anymore. And Dean couldn't challenge Roman for his WWE Championship. What I hadn't thought about before was Seth could challenge Roman and me.

"So, Stephanie, now that the freakazoid has vacated the title, can I get a title shot? The stipulations for Payback said I couldn't challenge as long as she held the belt, right?" AJ said.

I didn't let her get under my skin.

"Well, this would be the only way for you to get a title shot, now wouldn't it, AJ?" I asked her.

She glared at me, but knew she couldn't touch me or she'd be fired. That was also part of the stipulations. I gave her my creepiest smile. Dad, Kane and Roman closed ranks around me.

"When we decide how we are going to determine who is worthy of a Diva's Championship title match, AJ, yes, you are eligible to be considered," Stephanie said. "But that doesn't mean you'll get that shot. You haven't been very impressive lately. It may not be what's best for business to give you another title shot. We may just decide to have a tournament to decide the Diva's Champion."

"That sounds like a good idea, Steph," Triple H said. "We'll set the all the Divas up in matches. The winners will advance to the next round and go against each other in rounds until there are only two Divas left. Those two Divas will compete for the Divas Championship."

"So it's settled! Starting next week on Raw, we will have two Divas matches at every show until we get down to the top two Divas. The final two will have a title shot at the Money in the Bank Pay Per View!" Stephanie exclaimed.

AJ was screaming her head off. The crowd was loving it. Dean was trying to calm AJ while glaring daggers at me. It was Seth who finally spoke up.

"So is Dean still restricted from challenging Roman for the WWE Championship?" he asked.

This got Dean's attention. I guess my vacating the title and giving AJ another shot at the Diva's title gave him hope of getting another shot at Roman. He was wrong.

"Dean Ambrose lost at Payback in a Last Chance match. Unless Roman Reigns loses his title, Dean Ambrose is ineligible to challenge for the WWE Championship," Triple H said.

Dean looked infuriated and stopped pretending to calm AJ down. Signs of why he was known as the Lunatic Fringe of The Shield were showing and I shrank back into Kane, who was behind me, a bit. Roman just moved closer to me.

"Then I want a shot at the title. The stipulations for Payback didn't cover me," Seth said.

"Anytime, Rollins," Roman said.

"Fine. Roman, since you're willing to defend your title, you get to decide if it will be tonight or at Smackdown," Triple H said.

"Tonight," Roman said.

"There you have it. Our main event! Rollins vs Reigns for the WWE Championship!" Stephanie announced.

Roman's music started playing and we all made our way out of the ring to go get ready. We left AJ, Dean and Seth in the ring with The Authority. Dad, Kane, and Roman followed me to the locker room I usually hid in.

"Are you okay, Cass?" Glenn asked me.

"Yeah. I just don't trust Ambrose. I know he can't touch me, but when he starts acting like Jon Moxley who knows what he does and doesn't know he should do?"

"You sure, Baby Girl?"

I looked from Dad to Joe. Joe didn't know Dad hated hearing him call me Baby Girl. Dad was grinding his teeth, but keeping his comments to himself.

"Yeah, I'm sure. Thanks for being out there with me tonight. It meant a lot."

"Why didn't you tell me, Cassie?" Glenn asked.

"I only told Dad and Joe. Other than that only The Authority and Vince knew. We decided to keep it quiet to shock everyone when I made the announcement," I explained.

"Besides, you were one of the first ones to tell her she should wrestle the men," Dad said to him.

"Alright, all of you, I love you, but you need to go. I need to get ready for my match and it involves me changing."

Dad and Glenn left after giving me a hug and a kiss on the forehead. Joe lingered when they left.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, Joe. Why?"

"You seemed shaky before."

"You know how I feel about Dean."

"Is that all?"

"Yeah." _No._

"I'll be back after I change for my match. Unless you want me to stay outside while you change and you can stay with your dad while I change?"

_Yes. _"No. I'm okay. Go change, Joe. I'll be here when you get back. I can't just run out on my first match on the men's roster."

He kissed me and walked out of the locker room. I got changed and then stretched out on the bench listening to my iPod. Thankfully, I didn't get any unwanted visitors while I waited for him to come back. When he came back we relaxed until it was time for my match, which he decided to stay ringside for.

Del Rio entered first and Roman entered with me. When the match started, Del Rio was still muttering about how the match was beneath him. I glared at him. He was a one of the top Superstars, but a lot of his accomplishments had come with some level of cheating and cheap shots.

The two of us circled each other in the ring for about two minutes before Del Rio tried to take me out at the knees. I sidestepped him and came down with an elbow into his back when he went down in front of me. While he was on the mat, I picked him up and suplexed him. The look of shock on his face sent a shock of adrenaline through my body.

He hadn't realized how physically strong I really was. I could benchpress more than the weight of most of the Superstars, with my current lifting limit being 310 lbs. It wasn't as impressive as what the guys could do, but I could still pick up the Superstars, some for longer than others.

When he recovered he performed an Irish Whip on me and kicked me in the stomach a few times while I was in the corner. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Roman jump up, which only made Del Rio's attack on my stomach more vicious. Just before the ref would've forced him away from me, I hit him with a right hand to the face than sent him staggering back a few feet and then grabbed him for a running bulldog. I picked him up before he could recover and hit him with a Tombstone.

While he was sprawled out in the center of the ring, I climbed onto the ropes and waited for him to stand back up. When he did, I hit him with a double missile kick that left him seeing stars. I chokeslammed him to the mat and covered him. He kicked out at two and put me into the cross-armbreaker submission hold, hoping to get me to tap out. He didn't expect me to get back to a vertical base with him on me, but I did. I would never tap out to someone like him.

Getting back to a vertical base, I performed a Samoan drop on Del Rio like Roman had taught me, which made him finally let go of my arm. My arm and shoulder were throbbing from the hold and the weight of him while I did the drop, so I ended the match. After I hit Del Rio with an enzuiguiri kick, I locked in the Hell's Gate submission. Del Rio tried not to tap out.

"Tap out!" I snarled out him.

"No! I'm too good for you!" he spat back at me.

I tightened my grip on the submission hold. He still struggled against me, but I saw that he was starting to bleed from his mouth. Finally, as I saw his eyes were starting to roll into the back of his head, Del Rio tapped out to me. When I released the hold on him, he just laid on the mats, unmoving. Two of the trainers came over to pull him out of the ring while the ref held my hand up in victory and I was announced the winner.

Roman and I walked to the back room and I found a surprise waiting outside the locker room that was unofficially mine. I shrieked like a little kid and ran over to him. Throwing my arms around him, I was careful not to be too forceful, remembering why he retired.

"ADAM! What are you doing here?"

"I had a midget I wanted to visit. One who didn't tell me she was part of the WWE family now," Adam Copeland, who was formerly known as Edge and was one step away from another uncle replied to me.

He hugged me back and walked with me and Roman into my locker room. We all knew I wouldn't have much time to be out of character. Renee Young would come find me soon for reactions on my match with Del Rio.

"More than a year later you catch up with me? You always were a little slow," I said laughing at him.

"I've been busy and I heard you had your hands full yourself between hiding out from your father and everything with the business."

"That and my engagement."

"That was real?"

I realized then that Adam was before Roman's time.

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize you guys don't really know each other. Adam Copeland, this is Joe Anoa'i aka Roman Reigns, my fiancé. Joe, Adam has been like an uncle to me for years. He's dated aunt Devin on and off for years behind Dad's back so Dad wouldn't kill him in the ring."

Joe laughed.

"Nice to meet you. I get it. I thought Taker was going to kill me after I kissed Cassie. Thankfully, he didn't find me alone after the proposal otherwise he might've."

"Mark is protective of Cassie and Devin. If he tells you he'll hunt you down and kill you, take him seriously."

"I do," said Joe. "Especially after seeing his hands smoking. I've never seen family disagreements like those between Cassie and her father."

"You haven't seen Mark and Devin. She hasn't been around as much lately, but a 'disagreement' between her and her brother typically left one of them unconscious. More often it was Mark."

"Wow," Joe said in astonishment. "You have to introduce me to your aunt, Cassie."

"You're no pushover yourself, Joe. You stood your ground with Dad after I burned him."

"Why did you burn your father, Cassie?" asked Adam.

I grew quiet. I wasn't going to tell him why Dad and I were fighting. Joe covered for me.

"Did you see when the feud with the Wyatts started a while back?"

"Yeah. I'm not here, but I keep track of what's going on," Adam replied.

"Cassie wasn't supposed to be in the ring. She was ordered on a week of no in-ring action after Wrestlemania. Natalya did a little more damage to her than she thought."

"The abdominal stretch?" Adam guessed.

_Shit_, I thought. I forgot Adam was an empath and had hugged me. His powers were more complex than the average empath. Through touch he could see some things that had already happened or things that would happen. I just hoped he hadn't caught everything when we'd touched since I was pretty covered up.

"Cheater," I said.

Adam looked sheepish and Joe looked lost.

"Joe, Adam here is an empath. He got some of what's going on when he hugged me. He's a touch empath. He can get information from someone about their past or future from touching them or something important to them or with their DNA."

"Cassie!" Adam said.

"Joe knows about me and my powers. I'm not lying to him. He'll keep your secret, don't worry."

"That's amazing," Joe said. "Does it work on everyone?"

"Pretty much unless they block me or I block them."

"Which I guess neither one of us thought to do. How much do you know?"

Adam told me he knew about my cutting, the abortion, and the hospitalization after Wrestlemania. He said he could feel there was more, but I was guarding that with my life. If only he realized how true it was.

"Fine. So is that really why you came after all this time? To make sure that I was okay?"

"You know how much I love you, Cassie. I want to make sure this guy and this business aren't going to push you too far."

"I know. But if anything, Joe keeps me from going too far. I nearly killed myself and he not only saved me, but he helped me while I healed myself. He covered it up so people wouldn't think I was a freak again. Joe even stood up to me with Dad. I wasn't supposed to be in-ring, but Bray Wyatt called me a baby killer and other things. I avoided Dad and he came to our hotel suite yelling and waking us up. He wouldn't stop long enough to hear me, so I burned him to shut him up. He tried to get Joe to back him up, but Joe has time and again made it clear he loves me and will do what is best for me whether or not Dad likes it."

"I believe you. I just worry."

"Don't worry about me with Joe."

At this point, Renee Young and her camera crew came into the locker room.

"Morgana if I could have a word?" she asked.

"Yes, Renee?"

"What made you choose to vacate the Diva's Championship?"

"As I said earlier, I've mostly been fighting the Superstars anyway, so I requested making that official."

"And what are your reactions to your match against Alberto Del Rio? He thought you were an inferior opponent, but you obviously proved him wrong."

"Del Rio saw me as a little girl, but I am so much more. I come from Death Valley and am no mere girl. I can face any Superstar and I fear nobody."

"When did you know you were going to vacate the title?"

"I knew before Payback."

"Well good luck to you, Morgana," she said as she turned to Joe. "Roman, a minute of your time?"

"Sure, Baby Girl."

"Are you nervous about defending your title for the second time in twenty four hours against your other former stablemate, Seth Rollins?"

"Baby Girl, Rollins may be the Architect, but I'm the Muscle. I've taken him out more than once and I'll do it again tonight. I'm not worried at all."

"How do you feel about Morgana's choice to switch rosters? Now that she is officially fighting on the same roster as you, there is always the possibility that you two will be put against each other in the ring."

"I'm proud of Morgana. She saw there was a bigger challenge for her here and she went for it. I'm not worried about us being on the same roster. I'll never fight her."

"There you have it. Back to you at ringside," she said before leading her camera crew out of the locker room.

"You two hadn't thought about that, had you?" asked Adam.

"No," I admitted.

"I meant it. I wouldn't fight you, not even to keep my title," Joe said.

"I wouldn't fight you either."

Joe kissed me.

"What was that for?"

"Not that I need a reason, but it was for that near-perfect Samoan drop you pulled off on Alberto Del Rio."

The three of us hung out a little longer before Roman Reigns had his match against Seth Rollins. Knowing Dean and AJ would be at ringside, I decided to go as well. Even though neither one could touch us, it didn't mean they couldn't distract the ref for Seth to pull off some illegal move for the win. Adam went back to the family area to watch the main event.

When the match started, Seth and Roman locked up on each other, trying to get the best of each other. It only last about ten seconds before Roman literally threw Seth across the ring. Seth bounced back to his feet really quickly, but Roman was ready for him. As Seth went for a roundhouse kick, Roman grabbed him and performed a Samoan drop on him. While Seth was reeling from the drop, Roman knelt over Seth and started taunting him.

About a minute later, Seth got back to his feet and finally got in an enzuiguri kick to the back of Roman's head, leaving him seeing stars. As Seth went for Peace of Mind, Roman dropped himself to the mat, grabbing Seth's leg and tossing him. When the two got back up, Seth tried to go punch for punch with Roman until, seeing he couldn't handle it, he pushed him back. Bad move. Roman got himself ready for the Superman Punch, which he hit Seth with before he saw it coming. Roman covered him and won the match. He kept his title.

I jumped into the ring and gave him his belt back as I held his hand up in victory. Seth got up and looked at the two of us with disgust. My stomach dropped.

"She's still nothing but a dirty whore," he whispered to us. "Not even that good in bed."

My mind snapped. I speared Seth before Roman could react. I started punching him over and over again in his face, watching as the blood started pouring from his mouth and nose, watching as his eyes rolled into the back of his head. Finally, Roman was able to pull me off of him, and I was screaming in fury. The trainers came and carried Seth to the training room Dean and AJ in tow, with Dean smirking at me. Roman carried me to my locker room.

I broke free of Roman and found that Dad, Glenn and Adam were in the locker room already. Rodney was there to tell Roman I needed to see Paul and Stephanie. Roman growled at him they would have to see me tomorrow. Rodney cowered and ran off to deliver the message.

"What the hell was that, Cassie?" Roman yelled.

My mind was still in a rage-fueled haze. I just glared at him and didn't answer him. Dad, Glenn and Adam looked from me to Roman before putting themselves between the two of us. They knew I wasn't all there.

"Careful, Joe. She's not herself right now," Adam warned him. "You don't want to yell at her right now."

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

"Cassie is full of nothing but rage right now. If you push her too far, she won't realize she's attacking you," Dad explained.

"Cassie won't hurt me," Joe replied.

"Joe, she doesn't know you right now," Glenn explained.

"What happened in the ring?" Adam asked.

"Seth called her some nasty things and said some worse things about her. Then all of a sudden, she snapped, speared him, and beat him unconscious. When I pulled her off of him she was screaming," Joe explained.

"Fury," Dad explained.

"Fury?"

"What exactly did he say to you two?" Dad asked.

At this point, I was no longer listening, but plotting how to get by them to finish off what I started.

**Roman's POV**

"I don't think you really want to know that, Mark," I said to Undertaker.

Adam walked closer to Cassie, trying to touch her, but she kept inching away from him. Her eyes weren't her own. They were full of hate and vengeance.

"I need to know what he said, Joe. It may be the only way to figure out what the hell is going on here," Mark replied.

I didn't want to tell him. How could I tell my future father-in-law that my ex-best friend called his daughter a dirty whore and I didn't do anything to stop him? After a minute I took a deep breath and looked back at Cassie. It was clear she needed help and I had no idea what was going on with her. I had to tell him, no matter what happened.

"Seth called her a nasty whore and said she wasn't that good in bed," I said, looking at my hands.

Mark, Glenn and even Adam stared at me. Cassie starting screaming again and went for the door. Mark and Glenn stopped her, but she burned them. I grabbed her, pulling her close to me and begging her to hear me.

"Come back to me, Baby Girl," I whispered into her ear. "Nobody can hurt you hear. It's just me, your dad, Glenn, and Adam in here. Nobody to hurt you. Please, Cassie, come back to us. You're safe here."

I could feel the fire from her body as it started to burn me, but I wasn't going to let her go. Struggling to keep the pain out of my voice, I kept soothingly talking to her, calling her back from the dark place she'd gotten lost in. Suddenly I felt Denise, soothing the burns. I nodded to her in thanks and kept trying to get through to Cassie. Part of me knew if I lost her now, I'd never get her back and that scared me more than anything. It took about an hour, but she finally calmed down.

"I'm sorry," she said weakly before she passed out in my arms.

Mark took her from me and put her on the bench so he, Adam and Glenn could help with the burns that Denise couldn't heal. I cried silently while they did. Not because the burns hurt, I didn't even feel those. I cried because Cassie was in so much pain and I didn't know what to do to fix her.


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter Twenty Four: Truths Hurt**

Things got more tense between Joe and I after that night on Raw. I got suspended for two weeks by Paul, who was now my direct supervisor, because I wouldn't say anything as to why I attacked Seth. Instead of staying with Joe and travelling with the company, I was on a flight back to Texas two hours after I was suspended. Even when I was there, I wouldn't answer my father's questions.

Everyone was looking at me funny. They wanted to know why I would sleep with Colby when I claimed I wouldn't sleep with Joe. Joe was hurt that I had slept with him, but nobody was putting together the pieces that I had been raped. People were mad at me and I was mad at them for being mad at me. It didn't exactly make me want to talk to them, so I was okay with the solitude of the house in Texas.

When I went back to work, I was called into the office right away to see Paul. I groaned when I was told this as I walked into the arena. Nobody had seen me yet, not even Joe. After I got to the hotel, I booked my own hotel room. How could I share a suite with a man who was questioning whether or not I slept with his ex-best friend?

"You wanted to see me, Paul?" I said, closing the door behind me.

"Yeah, sit down, Cassie."

I walked over to the desk and sat at the chair in front of him.

"You know that what you did to Colby Lopez is unacceptable here, don't you?"

I nodded.

"If you keep acting like this, I'm not going to have a choice but to release you from your contract. Do you want that?"

"No."

"Then talk to me, Kid. I've known you most of your life. You can tell me anything."

"I can't tell you this. Just keep him and Jonathan Good away from me and I'll be fine."

"Are they bugging you again?"

"You could say that."

"How bad is it, Cassie?"

"Stephanie knows, but she won't tell you. She doesn't know it was them."

"Doesn't know what was them, Cassie?"

I started having flashes of what they did to me. My breathing got heavy. The wood on the chair started to smoke. Paul threw water over my hands.

"What's wrong, Cassie?"

"I'm sorry, Paul. I can't talk about it. Please, I'll keep my temper in check, but please don't let them near me. I'm not ready to go to the police, but if I have to, I will."

"The cops? Cassie, what the hell is going on? What could they have done to you that would involve you calling the cops?"

I started to cry and hyperventilate. I could feel the two of them all over me. At this particular moment, I was glad that my empathy had been locked off for years. If it hadn't, the cuts I had made after the attack would reopen. I couldn't breathe, the panic was getting bad. The urge to cut was getting bad. The darkness was pressing in on me. I fell off the chair and started rocking on the floor.

**Roman's POV**

"_Joe." _

I heard the familiar voice and felt the familiar coldness that always came with it.

"Denise. What's wrong?"

"_Cassie is at the arena already, meeting with Paul. She's slipping into the dark place in his office. It's getting bad. I can't just show up in front of him. It will send him over the edge. I need you to go to her."_

Cassie was here? She hadn't even told me that she was coming back for Raw tonight.

"Alright, I'm going. Thanks for telling me."

I grabbed my jacket and my keys and ran out the hotel room, heading for the arena.

When I got there, some of the stage hands tried to stop me from going into the office. I didn't listen. I barged in and found Paul crouching over Cassie who was panicking on the floor near a corner of his desk. Hurrying over to her, I grabbed her and pulled her into my arms, rubbing circles on the small of her back and talking soothingly to her.

"What the hell are you doing here, Joe?" Paul asked angrily.

"Quiet," I said firmly, "she's scared. I'm trying to calm her down."

"How did you know?"

"Denise came to me. She said she couldn't come here to help because of you. She said she'd freak you out. So she asked me to come help. I didn't know Cassie was here, she didn't tell me that she was coming back today."

I kept rubbing circles and talking soothingly to her. Finally, her breathing calmed down and she fell asleep in my arms.

"Is she okay?" Paul asked.

"She will be. She's been through a lot in the last year and a half. When she gets like this it's because of things making her want to hurt herself and she's fighting not to. She says a darkness starts to close in on her while she keeps seeing the things that have made her hurt herself before. It's been a while since she hurt herself, but when she gets like this, it takes a lot out of her. She's gonna be out like a light for a few hours."

"You know about her cutting?"

"Yeah. She told me the truth about that, her drinking, Denise, and a lot of other things."

"She must really love and trust you, Kid. She keeps that guarded better than Fort Knox."

I didn't know what to say to that, considering I'd barely talked to her in two weeks.

"What were the two of you talking about that sent her over the edge?"

"She mentioned calling the cops if Jonathan Good and Colby Lopez weren't kept away from her. She said something about Stephanie knowing why, but not being ready to tell me or anyone, even the cops."

I struggled to keep an even tone. My two ex-best friends were the ones who raped my fiancée. I pulled her closer to me, feeling like an asshole for the way I'd treated her for the last two weeks. Right then, I vowed I would make them pay.

"Can you take them off of tonight's card?"

"What? Why?"

"Because if I'm right about what is going on, seeing them right now might make Cassie try to kill herself."

"What's going on, Joe?"

"Ask Cassie another day, I can't tell you."

"I'll think about it."

I drove back to the hotel and, after finding the key to Cassie's room in her shoulder bag, I put her to bed in her room. Leaving her there, I went in search of my two ex-best friends. It didn't take me long to find them.

Colby and Jon were at a nearby gym. I went into the gym and acted like things were fine with us. When we left the gym we were walking back to their car when I attacked them. Colby was easy to beat nearly to death. Jon on the other hand, was a street kid, and fought dirty. Still, I left him in a pool of his own blood.

Someone called the cops while I was beating them for what they did to Cassie. I was arrested and brought to the police station. As they put me into the back of the squad car, I looked at Jon and Colby and smiled, knowing that they would never forget what I just did to them.

**Cassie's POV**

I woke up to banging on my hotel room door. I didn't know how I got there. Rubbing the sleep out of my eyes, I went to the door and opened it to find Paul there. Before I said anything, he pushed past me. I was still too asleep to fight so I closed the door and followed him inside.

"What's wrong, Paul?"

"Cassie, what happened between you, Colby and Jon?"

That was the last thing I asked him to ask me.

"Why do you think something happened?"

"Joe asked me to take them off the card for tonight when he showed up at the arena a little while ago. I explained what we were talking about and now they're in critical condition at the hospital and he's in lockup!"

Shit. Joe figured out who my attackers were. My breathing started getting heavy and I ran my hand through my hair. I started looking around my room for something to hurt myself with. Paul grabbed me.

"Listen to me, Cassie! The man you love is in jail right now! What the hell is going on?"

I fell to the floor crying, a mini windstorm blowing around the room. Paul dropped down near me.

"They raped me!" I screamed over the wind. "They raped me twice! They got me pregnant! I had an abortion and they threatened me again!"

Paul put his arms around me and I cried into his arms.

"Cassie, why didn't you tell me?"

"I couldn't, they threatened me."

"I would have protected you, Kid."

I cried some more until I couldn't cry anymore. The storm stopped and I cleaned myself up. Paul went to the police precinct to get Joe out. When he left, I went to the hospital to see Jon and Colby.

I was shaking when I went into the room. It was the last place I wanted to be. Thankfully, the two of them were in one room and nobody else was allowed in. They looked at me with sick smiles when I walked in and closed the door behind me.

"We're not up to making you feel good right now," Jon said.

"Shut up, you sick fuck!" I exclaimed. "This time, you're gonna listen to me or else I'm going from here to the police precinct to report what you did to me."

"You wouldn't do that to us," Colby said. "You don't want Joe to know."

"Joe knows because of me attacking you, dumbass," I replied with venom in my voice. "Now, you're refuse to press charges against him when the cops ask you or you're gonna drop them if you've pressed them."

"And why would we do that?" Jon asked.

"Because if you don't, I have the two of you arrested for rape," I replied cooly. "Your choice. You leave me and Joe alone, dropping the charges against him, or you can get marked as rapists. What will it be?"

Colby looked defeated. Jon looked pissed.

"Fine. I'll back off, Cassidy," Colby said.

"Who the fuck do you think you are?" Jon yelled at me.

I got close to him.

"The one who's got your balls in a guillotine if you don't do what I said," I replied.

"What the fuck is a guillotine?" he asked.

"It's what they used to use to cut people's heads off, man," Colby explained.

Jon paled a little.

"Whatever, you bitch," he said

"If you keep messing with us or press charges, I'll press charges. Keep that in mind."

With that, I walked out and went back to the hotel. When I got back to my hotel room, I found Joe outside. I ran to him.

"Are you okay?"

"Why didn't you tell me it was them, Cassie?"

"They were your friends, Joe."

I opened the door and we went inside. Sitting down, I saw we had only an hour until we had to be at the arena.

"I couldn't tell you they were that kind of guys. You still hoped they would stop being assholes."

"Cassie, I love you. You're the most important person in my life."

"I know you love me, Joe. But you've known me for a little over two years. You've known them a lot longer. Those kinds of friendships don't end overnight and they don't usually end over girls."

"You're no ordinary girl. You're an amazing woman."

He kissed me, and I struggled not to flinch. After everything that happened that day, I was still jumpy, especially after seeing them. Joe noticed and finally looked around my room.

"Tornado?"

"Wind storm."

"Are you okay?"

"I don't know. But I told Paul the truth before he went to the precinct to get you out," I said. "How did he get you out?"

"He lied to the cops and said it was a publicity stunt gone wrong. They let me off with a fine and a warning," he said, before realizing I said I knew Paul went to the precinct but wasn't there or at the hotel. "Where were you? You didn't come with Paul, but you weren't here, so where did you go?"

I looked at my hands. I couldn't keep lying to him.

"I went and told Jon and Colby that if they didn't drop the charges I'd press rape charges."

"What do you mean if? You're not gonna press charges, Cassie?"

"I can't. I can't handle all of that, Joe. I can barely handle the people closest to me knowing."

I could tell he was disappointed with me, but he just held me. Right now, it would have to be okay, because I couldn't put myself through the strain of pressing charges. Between no evidence, the trial, and everything else, it was too much. I wasn't sure, no matter how strong Joe thought I was, that I could handle that.

"At least you didn't dodge the question. Thanks for telling me that right away, Cass."

"I love you, Joseph."

"I love you too, Cassidy."

We stayed snuggled for the time we had left and then drove to pick up his car. We met up at the arena and found that Paul had officially given the two of us the same dressing room. It was weird, but I felt safer. At least it had a separate bathroom, so I could always go get dressed in there. Joe didn't care how much of him I saw. After I was dressed in my ring attire I went to hair and make-up, only to be surprised.

"Aunt Devin?" I asked, unsure, when I walked in.

Devin had been working down at Full Sail University with the NXT crew for a while. She'd had a bad break-up with one of the Superstars and requested to be put down with the NXT crew to avoid him. Nobody really knew she was avoiding John Cena, and therefore she really didn't like the Bella twins.

"Come here, Cass," she said, pulling me into a hug. "You look good. I've seen your matches. You're as tough as your father."

"Thanks, Devin. What are you doing back here?"

"Couldn't run forever. Besides, your dad's been trying to get me to come back and keep an eye on you for a while."

I figured that was part of it. Before I could say anything else, Joe walked in behind me. He stopped short, looking confused.

"Joseph Anoa'i, I want you to meet my aunt, Devin Calaway. She works hair and make-up, but she's been down at NXT. Devin, this is my fiancée, Joseph, Sika's son."

They shook hands and I could see Devin eyeing Joe's hair.

"Careful with her, Joe. If you piss her off, she might try to shave your head."

Joe took a step back and I started laughing.

"So you're the one Adam talked about knocking Mark unconscious?"

"You've met Adam?"

"A few weeks back, before Cassie got suspended."

I went pale and started backing out of the make-up room.

"Cassidy! Get back here!"

I hid behind Joe, which I'd never done before.

"Yes, Devin?" I asked peeking my head out from behind him.

He looked down at me with a mix of confusion and amusement. She came over to me, grabbed me by my hair, and pushed me into her work chair.

"Suspended?"

"I may have put Seth Rollins down for a week."

"Why?"

"I have lots of reasons, and no time to explain. Please, let this go and do my hair and make-up? I have a match in fifteen minutes," I begged her.

She looked at me and gave in. After Joe and I got our hair done, we were called to Paul's office. I was confused, since I had a match scheduled in five minutes against Dolph Ziggler, but I just went. We went inside and closed the door behind us.

"Are the two of you sure you're up for tonight?" Paul asked.

"I'm sure," I said.

"Joe?" he asked Joe.

"I'm fine," he replied.

"Cassie, there's been a change in your match. You're not facing Dolph Ziggler tonight," he said to me.

I was confused. Was he cancelling my match?

"Why?"

"Seth Rollins was supposed to have an Intercontinental Championship match against Cesaro tonight. Given the circumstances, I feel that you should be the one to take the match. You have proven yourself here."

"Cesaro, Paul? Are you sure she's ready for that?" Joe asked.

"Do you think she's not?"

"I'm not saying that. It's just that he cheats, he swings people, and if he goes for the Neutralyzer, it might make her panic given where he needs to pick her up from. Not to mention Jack Swagger has no problem hitting a woman."

"So you stay ringside to deal with Swagger. If she can't handle facing any guy, maybe she should go back to the Divas' roster."

"I'm fine. I can deal with this. I'll take the match. When is it?"

"Cassie, are you sure?"

"I'm sure, Joe. When's the match, Paul?"

"Third to last. Joe will have just enough time to touch up his hair and make-up if he has to after your match before he comes back out for his match versus Randy Orton."

"Okay. We'll be ready. Thanks for this, Paul."

"I know you can do this, Cassie. Now show the world that you can."

We walked out of his office and back to the dressing room. Joe and I didn't talk much. My mind was on my match. Cesaro? I wasn't really sure about this, but I couldn't turn the match down. Joe and Paul arguing had made sure I couldn't. Cesaro was a strong competitor, but there were things to look out for. I had to avoid his European Uppercut, his Big Boot, the Cesaro Swing, and definitely the Neutralyzer. With Joe on the outside of the ring to keep Swagger in line, I could focus on that instead of having to worry about that and Swagger coming in and attacking me with the Patriot Lock or the Swagger Bomb.

Time went by too quickly and before I knew it, it was time to go to the ring. As my music started and I went out with Joe, my nerves were raw. I had never been in the ring with Cesaro before. Sure, I'd wrestled some tough guys, but Cesaro was always in a league of his own.

It was clear, when Cesaro got to the ring, that nobody him told him about the change in his match card. The look of shock on his face said it all. Then it hit me, I didn't even know who was supposed to win the match.

"What are you doing here, Morgana?" Cesaro asked me.

"Didn't you hear? Seth and Dean are indisposed, so I'm taking this match."

"You can't fight me."

"We'll see."

The ref showed the Intercontinental Belt to me and Cesaro then held it up for the crowd to see. He handed it to Swagger outside of the ring and called for the timekeeper to ring the bell. Right away Cesaro went for a European Uppercut, but I used a drop toehold and knocked him into the turnbuckle. When he got up and turned around, I used the ropes to propel me as I did a few jumping kicks to his stomach. Before the ref called five for me keeping him in the corner I backed off, and when I did, he hit me with a Big Boot, knocking me halfway across the ring. Cesaro thought he had me beat with that kick to my head. When he came over to me to grab me for the Cesaro swing, I grabbed him instead, performing a Power Slam on him.

"Maybe you shouldn't judge a demon by sight," I whispered to him.

I grabbed him, picking him up and performing Last Ride on him. Covering him, the ref got to two before he kicked out. In the background, I could hear Roman roaring, which meant he was attacking Swagger. In other words, Swagger tried to interfere. I got up and kicked Cesaro in the head with a Big Boot of my own. Then, grabbing his arm, I led him to the ropes, going up for Old School. When he tried to counter, I did a flip over him, using the ropes to launch me, and pulled tossed him across the ring when I landed.

Cesaro took a minute to recover and when he did, he hit me with a vicious clothesline. Before I could get back up he got me into position for the Cesaro Swing. He swung me fifteen times before he released me. I forced myself to focus and calm my dizziness while listening to his movements on the mat. I knew I couldn't fight him right now, but based on listening to his movements, I could duck out of the way.

My dizziness faded and I opened my eyes. Cesaro had me lined up for another Big Boot, but I was ready for him. When he came at me, I grabbed his leg and kicked him in his knee. He hit the mat. While he was down, I grabbed him and performed a Tombstone on him. He kicked out at two. I could feel his desperation not to lose to me. It made me nervous that he would go for the Neutralyzer, so I locked him in Hell's Gate before he could recover from the Tombstone. Just before he blacked out, he tapped out.

Roman slid into the ring and held my arm up in victory. I was holding the back of my head. He was ecstatic. Swagger came into the ring and I pushed Roman out of the way of his attack. I hit the mat head first hard, with Swagger on top of me, punching me over and over. After a few hits, I rolled him off of me and came down with an elbow on his nose.

At this point, Roman got back to his feet and Superman Punched him, but Cesaro was back on his feet. He grabbed me and hit me with the Neutralyzer, leaving me hyperventilating and seeing black spots in the middle of the ring. Where Swagger had me pinned, you could see that my head had been bleeding. There was a red circle where my head was. I don't remember hitting my head during the match, but I must have.

Roman Speared Cesaro and the Real Americans rolled out of the ring, looking defeated, only to meet with the Usos, who had been having issues with the Real Americans themselves lately. Jimmy and Jey Superkicked them and then came running across the ring and launched themselves out just to crush them. They then jumped back into the ring and helped me up, with Jimmy on Roman's right side and Jey on my left side.

The Usos music came on and Roman went to pick me up. I wouldn't let him. So Jey helped me down out of the ring and they supported me up the ramp. I refused to let Cesaro believe he and Swagger left me needing to be carried out of the ring after a match with him.

Jimmy handed me my belt when we got backstage, and he and Jey congratulated me on my new title. Renee Young was waiting to talk to me, but before the cameras started rolling, I asked her to wait until Backstage Pass to talk to me because I needed some time. I didn't mention the blood I could now feel dripping down my neck.

Jimmy and Jey went to walk away from me, but I stopped them. I needed to send Roman to get ready for his match, he didn't have time to worry about me.

"Joe, go see Devin. You need to get ready for your match."

"What about you, Cass?"

"I got Josh and Jonny. Go. I'm gonna go get checked by the trainers. Don't worry about me. I'll be fine."

He looked from me to his cousins.

"Are you guys sure you can handle her? She can kick your asses, you know."

"We can handle her, Cuz. Go get ready for your match. We'll handle your Champ," Jonny said.

"Go, Joe. If you miss this match, Paul will skin you alive. Besides, your Pop's already pissed at you. Don't go blowing off work right now," Josh said.

Joe shook his head like he was trying to shut Josh up. I hadn't thought about what would happen when Joe's family found out he got arrested for me. I hugged him and whispered an apology and thanked him.

"Go. No more trouble for you. I'm good with these two," I said to him, pushing him towards hair and make-up.

He walked away and I looked at the twins.

"Can you guys help me? I feel a little whoozy. I'm bleeding down my neck," I said.

Jonny lifted my hair and I could feel the breeze make the blood colder on my neck. He sucked in his breath between his teeth.

"Cesaro did a number on you, Cuz," he said as he picked me up.

I rested my head against his shoulder.

"Don't go to sleep, Cass. Tell me how it feels to be the Intercontinental Champion," Josh said.

"It hasn't hit me yet. How much trouble is Joe in with his dad?"

"His pop's pretty pissed off. He's never been arrested on a violent crime before. Even when he was told it was a botched publicity stunt, he didn't believe Paul," Jon said.

We got to medical and Jon put me down on the exam table. I was surprised when it wasn't Doc Fernandez who walked in, but a doctor I'd never met. I grabbed hold of Josh and Jon.

"I'm sorry, but you two will have to go," he said.

"Who are you?" I asked, not letting go of the Usos.

"My name is Doctor Talverez and I'm going to have to ask them to go."

"No. They stay. I don't know you. Where's Doc Fernandez?"

"Looking after the Real Americans. They can't stay. You need to change for an exam."

"For a head injury?" Jon asked incredulously.

"We need to do a full work-up on her because she's fighting the guys."

"I was never told that. I refuse. You can check my head. The only way anything else is getting done is by Doc Fernandez after Triple H tells me it's necessary, because this isn't part of my contractual probation."

Josh started laughing, but I kept the Usos at my side even after Doc Talverez tried to argue. After he gave me a few stitches and declared I didn't have any major head injury, Paul came into the training room.

"You two. Out. Now."

Josh and Jon looked at me and I nodded. They walked out.

"Why is Doc Talverez telling me you gave him trouble, Cassie?"

"Why is he trying to do a full exam on me for a head injury, Paul?"

"What?"

"He said he was told he has to do a full exam on me because I'm a girl on the guy's roster. Is this true?"

"No. We trust you to tell us if you're injured so we can check you."

"I came back here, by my own choice, to get my head checked. He said Jon and Josh had to go so he could do a full exam. I said no, he can check my head and if anything else was required by the company you could come tell me yourself and I would let Doc Fernandez do it."

"He wanted to do a full exam on you?"

"Yes! That's why I gave him trouble! I don't know him and I wasn't going to let him touch me!"

"Alright, I'll talk to him. Has he checked your head?"

"Yeah. A few stitches, no concussion or anything else."

"Okay, then you're done. Go to your dressing room. Roman's match should be over soon."

"Thanks, Paul."

"Cassie, congrats on proving you're as good as the guys," he said as he squeezed my shoulder.

I left the training room and ran into Renee Young. I'd already forgotten that I'd told her I'd talk to her later.

"Morgana, a word?" she asked.

I tried to be nice to Renee because she was a nice woman, but she could be annoying when she wanted an interview. Thankfully, Superstars and Divas only had to say as much or little as they wanted. Turning, I waited for her to get ready to start.

"Morgana, you had your first Championship match against a Superstar tonight, where you successfully obtained the Intercontinental Championship from Cesaro. What are your thoughts?"

"My thoughts, Renee, are that the Superstars need to stop underestimating me. I'm no little girl. I'm just as much a demon from Death Valley as my father and they would do best to remember that. Cesaro tried everything to hold me down and he lost his title. I'm here. They can't stop that. They can't stop me."

I walked away from her and to my dressing room. Joe was already there with Jon and Josh. I heard him yelling at them from outside. Pushing the door open, I walked in, tired but not wanting him to yell at them for no reason.

"Leave them alone. I told them to go because Paul needed to talk to me. They stayed with me until then, even against the trainer's orders," I said to Joe.

I walked over to the locker and put the belt in my gym bag. After I hugged him, I took my things and went to the bathroom to shower and change, careful not to wet my stitches. I was going to have to buy waterless shampoo until the stitches were out. When I was dressed I found Joe and his cousins showered and changed in the dressing room waiting for me.

"Who wants to pick up dinner and bring it to Joe's room? I'm tired and hungry," I said.

"Why my room?" Joe asked.

"Wind storm."

"Right. Guys?"

"Wind storm?" Josh asked.

"I'll get dinner. Burgers?" Jon replied.

"Rare bacon cheeseburger please, Jon," I said.

"Medium same, Cuz," Joe said.

"Wind storm?" Josh asked again.

"I kinda freaked out and unleashed a wind storm in my hotel room. It's kinda trashed right now," I explained finally.

"You gotta show me more of your powers, Cuz," Josh said. "They sound awesome!"

I rolled my eyes and curled into Joe. He had pulled my title belt out of my bag. I knew why. Fans would be outside. They'd expect to see us with our title belts. All four of us held titles. Joe still had the WWE Championship, the Usos had the Tag Team Championship, and I now had he Intercontinental Championship.

"What do you want, Uce?" Jon asked Josh.

"You know what I eat. I'll ride to the hotel with them. I'll see you there. I wanna see the tornado zone."

The four of us left together and split up after signing autographs for fans. Even with my headache, the night turned out better than most nights in a long time. I was afraid the other shoe would drop too soon.


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter Twenty Five: Family Choices**

The following week I was getting ready for the taping of Smackdown. The Real Americans were teaming with Ryback and Curtis Axel against The Usos, Roman Reigns, and Morgana. Joe had already finished getting dressed so he was down in hair and make-up with Devin getting ready for the match. I was taking my time in the dressing room, not in a rush to have to be back in the ring against Cesaro. While I was in the bathroom getting dressed, I heard the door open and close. I thought Joe was back. The other shoe had dropped.

Standing in the dressing room was Dean Ambrose. My blood started to boil. I wanted to hurt him again, then it hit me, there was no way him and Colby could be back so soon. I'd seen what Joe had done to them. They should have been gone for at least a month. But he was standing in front of me. Before I could say anything, he pinned me to the locker.

"Did you really think you could stop me, Cassie?"

I was fighting panic. I didn't want to let him see me scared again.

"How are you healed?" I said with more force than I really had behind me at that moment.

"I got an old friend who helped me out."

"And healed you?"

"Yeah. It took me a while to realize what a freak you are. But you're not the only one who can play those tricks, Cass."

He started stroking my cheek. I spit in his face. He punched me so hard that I started bleeding from my nose. At this point, Joe came back in. Before he could touch Dean, his "friend" followed him into the dressing room.

She wasn't tall. She had blue eyes and hair. Her arms had tattoos up and down them and her tongue and eyebrow were pierced. She looked about Joe and Dean's age, but she was a few years older than them.

"Ivy?" I asked confused.

Ivy paused after she had knocked Joe to his knees. She was shocked to see me. That didn't surprise me. I was shocked to see her. I hadn't seen her in a few years, since I had been in the hospital. Dean looked between the two of us and laughed before he went and put his arm around her shoulders.

"You know her, huh?" he asked me.

"Yeah, Dean, we know each other," Ivy said. "Cassidy is my daughter."

Dean's eyes lit up. He leaned over and kissed her. I went to hit him, but Joe grabbed me and pulled me back. When he went to physically remove Dean from our dressing room, Ivy used her powers and flung him into a wall. Dean kissed her again. I snapped.

Before Ivy could stop me, before she even saw what was coming, I dropped part of the ceiling on Dean, leaving him bleeding and unconscious. Looking at her, I wanted to hit her too, but I knew Dad would never forgive me for that.

"What the hell did you do that for, Cassie?" Ivy yelled at me, as she bent down to heal him.

"If you heal him, I'll kill him next time," I said, not looking away from her.

I could feel the fire in me starting to stir. My pyrokinesis may be no match for her power, but I could still kill Dean with it.

"What the hell is your problem?" Ivy asked me, getting up and looking at me.

"Right now, your presence. Where's Seth Rollins?" I asked her.

"That's no way to talk to your mother," she said to me. "He's in with the trainers finishing his physical."

"Why are you here?" I asked.

"Jon is an old flame of mine. He called me a few days ago and said some asshole jumped him and his friend. He asked if I could come help him out. So I did. What's it to you?"

"That 'asshole' who jumped him is my boyfriend. And not that I'll give you any reason, but he had very good reason to beat him to within an inch of his life, Ivy. You shouldn't have gotten involved."

"I shouldn't have gotten involved. Says the little girl who went running into her Daddy's shoes. So, what? You can't handle things around here so you have your boyfriend beat people up? Is that how Mark raised you?"

She crossed the line.

"Don't you EVER question my choices or how Dad raised me Ivy. You don't get that right. You weren't there. You don't know me," I said to her, clearly warning her. "You should take your unconscious loser of a friend and go before he wakes up."

"And if I don't?"

I attacked her, not with my powers like she expected, but physically. I walked over to her and punched her so hard I felt her nose break under my knuckles. As I pulled my arm back to hit her again, Joe pulled me off of her.

"Ma'am, maybe you should go. Cassie is really upset right now and Dean isn't supposed to be anywhere near her or he'll get fired."

"This isn't over, Cassidy."

"Not by a long shot, Ivy."

Ivy healed Dean enough that he could wake up and she helped him out of the dressing room. I knew she would heal him when she got him alone. It pissed me off more than almost anything else could. I turned to the wall and put my fist through it. When I pulled it out, it was bleeding. Joe came over and took my bleeding hand in his.

"Are you okay, Cass?" he asked me.

"Seriously, Joe? I just found out that my _mother_ is sleeping with Dean Ambrose and healed him. How do you think I'm doing?"

"Maybe you shouldn't fight tonight. Me and my cousins could handle a handicap match so you can relax. I'm sure Paul would understand if you told him that your… Well, that Ivy just showed up and threw you threw a tailspin."

"No, I'm gonna fight."

"What about your nose and your hand?"

"I'll be fine. My nose stopped bleeding already and my gloves will take most of the impact on my hands."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I need something to distract me. Just don't leave me alone again?"

"Not with her running around here. No offense, Ivy seems kinda crazy."

"Yeah. There's a reason I don't see her often."

"How old is she?"

"Barely older than you guys, in her thirties," I said to him. "It's complicated with her and my dad, so please don't judge."

"She doesn't look old enough to be your mother."

"Technically, she's not. I don't want to talk about this anymore."

I finished getting ready and did my own hair and make-up, knowing I couldn't face Devin after seeing Ivy. When I was finished, I sat down next to Joe. He was looking at the damage I caused.

"What are we gonna tell Paul about the ceiling and the wall?" he asked me.

I looked at the holes and used my telekinesis to put the plaster and sheetrock back where it went, using my other abilities to seal it in place.

"What about it?" I asked, looking at Joe.

"I wish I had your powers growing up. I broke a few things that would have helped to fix," he said as he leaned down to kiss me, careful not to hit my nose.

My phone started to ring. I looked at the caller ID. It was Dad.

"What is it, Dad?"

"Did you get into a fight with your mother, Cassie?"

I couldn't believe she called him. But part of me could believe it because her and Dad always argued about me.

"Yeah. I broke her damn nose."

"What the hell is going on with you, Cassidy?"

"Not on the phone, Dad. If you want to talk about this, you come see me. You know where Smackdown is being taped tonight. Get to the arena. She's here and I can't guarantee I won't get into another fight with her."

I heard him sigh on his side of the line.

"Michelle won't like me being near Ivy, but I'll be there in half an hour."

"We'll talk after my match then. I'm in an eight man tag match and I'll probably be in-ring by the time you get here."

"Fine. I'll see you then. Try not to get into a brawl with Ivy before I get there."

"No promises, Dad."

We got off the phone and I got up to head to meet the Usos for the match. In the hallway, Joe and I ran into Seth. Joe automatically pushed me behind him, looking like he was going to try to kill him again.

"Cassie, can I talk to you?" Seth asked.

"No," Joe replied. "You get the hell away from her."

"Cassie, please, I want to apologize. I know it won't change anything…" he said before I had him pinned to the floor by his throat.

"Apologize? After what you and your lunatic friend have done to me? Go to hell and stay there!" I exclaimed as I punched him.

I got up and walked away from him, with Joe holding me and laughing. It was then that I realized that I was stronger since it came out that it was Jon and Colby who raped me. I didn't hide from them anymore. When both of them approached me I fought back. Now if only Ivy wasn't on Dean's side.

We got to the gorilla position and found the Usos waiting for us. Jonny, being the observant one, noticed the swelling on my face. Josh was just talking to Joe about the match. Jonny came and sat by me.

"Are you okay?" he asked me.

"I got into a fight back here."

"With who?"

"Doesn't matter. He's in worse shape. Or at least he was. I don't know if he will be for long."

"Why?"

"Because I think someone is going to heal him."

"Who around here can heal other than you, your dad, and Devin?"

"My mother," I said as I got up.

My music started. It was time for me to go out. I was entering alone. As I made my way down the ramp I made sure to keep very alert. I didn't trust Dean. Once Ivy healed him he was going to be pissed off again. Thankfully, I got to the ring without incident and soon after, Roman followed me down. The Usos entered last of the four of us, since their entrance was more explosive. After they entered, Ryback and Curtis Axel entered followed by the Real Americans. The four of us handed off our belts as we entered the ring, so once those four entered, we were ready to start. I started the match with Ryback.

We locked up in the center of the ring and then Ryback used the Irish Whip on me, sending me into his team's corner. He ran at me, crushing me between his body and the ringpost. I lifted my arms to block my face as he started punching at my face. At the four count, the ref pulled him off of me and his teammates started hitting me illegally from the apron. One of them hit me where my stitches where I and started seeing black spots in my vision. Pissed off, I turned and started throwing punches and elbows, knocking his three teammates off the apron. When I turned around, Ryback picked me up and Power Slammed me. My head ricocheted off the mat and I felt my stitches rip. He climbed up on the ropes and went to jump down on me, but I got my knees up just in time, hitting him in his solar plexus, leaving him unable to breathe and writhing in more pain than I was in.

I started to make my way to my corner. My vision was blurring. I heard a clap behind me and knew someone tagged Ryback out. Suddenly, I was being held by my foot. Swagger was the legal man. He was trying to lock in the Patriot Lock. Knowing he'd break my ankle, I rolled myself up and kicked him in the head with my other foot. He lost his grip on me, so I used a sweep kick on him to knock him down. While he got his bearings, I started towards my corner again. I was almost there when he grabbed me and slammed me head first into the mat. I was too far to reach and tag out, but I couldn't stay in the match. Swagger dragged me back to the middle of the ring then went to my corner and started taunting Roman.

Slowly, I rolled onto my side and tried to move. It was hard. I couldn't see straight. There were black spots in my vision. I could feel how badly I was bleeding. I made my way to my corner while Swagger was still taunting Roman. He was in Roman's face, not paying attention to anything else. He didn't notice when I finally reached up and tagged Jimmy.

I rolled just outside the ropes onto the apron. Jimmy climbed in where Swagger couldn't see him. He tapped him on the shoulder, smiled at him and Superkicked him in the jaw. Then he reached over and tagged Roman in, climbing out to check on me.

"Are you okay, Cuz?" he asked me.

"My head is bleeding," I said to him.

"Should I get a trainer?"

"No. They'll pull me. My stitches tore when Swagger Power Slammed me." 

"Cuz, you need to be stitched up."

"After the match."

"Your stubborn."

"You knew that. Help me up before Roman panics."

Jimmy helped me up and Jey looked at us. I nodded to him and he went back to watching the match. He was stomping his foot on the stairs along with his brother. Swagger tagged Cesaro into the match. He hit Roman with a European Uppercut. Roman went down, but I knew he'd get up quick. Cesaro came running over to our corner and I knew he was gonna try to knock us all off the apron. He went for me first. When he went to kick me I grabbed his leg and jumped off the apron, putting all the pressure of the ropes behind his knee with the full weight of my body as I came down.

It took Cesaro a minute to get off the ropes. I hurt him when I hung his knee up on the ropes. When he got off the ropes and turned around, Roman hit him with the Superman punch then tagged Jey in, jumping out of the ring and down to me.

"Baby Girl, you're bleeding."

"I'm fine. I'll get stitched again after the match."

"Again? You tore your stitches?"

"Yeah. The Power Slam."

Jimmy moved over and we climbed back up on the apron. Cesaro had tagged out. Curtis Axel was in. Jey was playing with him. I saw the Real Americans jump down off the apron and nudged Roman, pointing to them. Jimmy and me traded places. I didn't see Ryback climbed down and came around on the other side. While Jimmy and Roman beat on the Real Americans, Ryback pulled me off the apron. I grabbed him and did a running DDT into the steel stairs. When he got back up, he picked me up and slammed me head first into the steel stairs. Jey saw what happened. He Superkicked Curtis Axel and pinned him, ending the match. As soon as the match ended, the lights went out. When they came back on, Kane and the Undertaker were standing over me.

"NO!" I shouted. "I fight my own fights!"

I struggled to my feet, barely able to do it. I wasn't going to let Dad and Kane fight for me. I pushed my way past them and Ryback gave them a smug look.

"Beat it, Deadman. You've been told off," Ryback said.

"You just messed up, Ryback. You disrespected The Undertaker. That's not my fight," I said as I staggered aside.

Dad and Kane went after Ryback as Roman caught me before I could fall. He helped me stagger to the trainers' room for treatment. We'd won the match, but I knew things were far from done with me and Ryback. After I'd been stitched up by Doc Fernandez, who also determined I had a minor concussion, Roman and I went back to our dressing room. Dad and Kane were sitting waiting for us when we got there.

"What was that, Cass? Why'd you try to stop us?" Glenn asked.

"I'm on the men's roster now. I can't have you guys showing up fighting my fights every time something happens. Now, once he disrespected you, it wasn't my fight."

"She's right, Glenn," Dad said. "I didn't think about that."

"It's okay. It's not easy for Joe, either, and he's always here."

Joe sat down and pulled me into his lap. I curled up with him, it made me feel better. Dad and Glenn were gonna have to deal.

"What happened earlier, Cass? Ivy was really pissed off when she called me," Dad started.

"Wait, Ivy called you, Mark?" Glenn asked.

"Yeah. Apparently, Cassie and her got into a fight here in the arena."

"Ivy's here, Cassie?" Glenn asked me.

"Yeah. With Jonathan Good and Colby Lopez. Jon, who thought it would be a good idea to come threaten me tonight," I said.

"He broke his contract?" Glenn asked, getting pissed off.

"Leave it alone. I dropped a ceiling on his head. Then had to fix it, but whatever."

"What the hell is going on here?" Dad said looking between the three of us.

He was the only one who didn't know what had happened the week before. I explained everything, me beating Seth, Joe getting arrested after coming for me and figuring out the last piece I had kept from everyone, and the final piece he had figured out. Dad was furious. I could feel his power radiating from him and I just held tighter to Joe. Then I explained that Ivy was the one to heal Jon and Colby, had attacked Joe, and we got into a fight after. I told him that she admitted that she and Jon were long-time friends and how he was kissing her in front of me, how I dropped the ceiling on him, punched her in the nose, breaking it, and punched the wall, cutting up my hand. Finally, I told them what happened with Colby. By the time I finished, Glenn was gritting his teeth, Dad was smoking, and Joe was rubbing circles on the small of my back.

"Does she know what he did to you?" Dad asked through clenched teeth.

"I have no idea. It's not exactly like I stopped to tell her. We don't really get along, remember?"

"Would she still side with him if she did? No offense, but she seems to be more concerned with what she wants then being a mother," Joe said.

"Ivy isn't a bad person, she's just impulsive and young. She never knew how to be a mother, and she never had to be, but I don't think she'd rub her daughter's attacker in her face," Dad explained.

"She didn't seem to have an issue with it when Cassie mentioned he's not supposed to be near her," Joe said.

"I don't know what's going on with her. I'd say I can't believe her, but Ivy's always been very out there," Dad said.

"Uncontrollable. It's why you've always been so strict with Cassie," Glenn said.

"Really?" Joe asked.

"Yeah. He was afraid I'd turn into _her_ if he wasn't," I spoke up. "Dad, I don't know what to do. I don't want her near me, especially not with them. I dropped a fucking ceiling on his head and she had him walking in a few minutes!"

"I'm gonna start touring with you again. To make sure things don't get out of control," Dad said.

"What about Michelle?"

"You need me. I'll ask Gunner to make sure Michelle and Kaya are taken care of while I'm gone."

"I could just have him fired," Glenn said.

"It wouldn't help. If he's got Ivy on his side, the WWE is probably the only thing keeping things from getting too out of control right now," Dad said.

"He broke his contract," Glenn said.

"And if we tell Paul things will get worse, Glenn. We need to deal with this another way. Dad's right," I said.

"I don't like this. Your mother is crazy, Cassie," Glenn said.

"I don't like it either, Glenn, but this is the only way."

Joe pulled me closer to him. There was a knock on the door. It was the Usos. They had mine and Joe's Championship belts. Josh had my belt and Jonny had Joe's, which they handed to us and made themselves at home in the middle of our little discussion.

"Cassie, is Ivy causing trouble?" asked Jonny as he sat down.

"Wait. You two know her mother?" Joe asked.

"We met Ivy before when she's come blowing through like a hurricane fighting with her and her dad," Josh said. "We have been here longer than you, Joe."

"She mentioned that her mom was here when I asked about the swelling on her face. Did she hit you, Cass?" Jonny asked.

"No. That was Dean. He was here with her. She healed him and Seth," I said.

Joe explained everything. Jonny and Josh were pissed off.

"We'll help keep you safe from them. Promise. Right Uce?" Jonny said.

"Of course!" Josh exclaimed.

I started taking my gloves off, finally noticing Joe and I were still fully in our ring attire. I got the left glove off, but the right glove wouldn't come off. I groaned.

"What's wrong?" Joe asked.

"Dad, I need your help, here. Between the wall, Seth, and the match, my hand is swollen in my glove. I can't get it off. Can you help?"

Dad looked around the room a little uncomfortable. He didn't typically use his power in front of people, but Glenn was unofficially family, Joe would be soon enough, and the twins were part of his family, so by extension, would be part of the family too. He sighed and got down on his knees in front of me, taking my right hand between both of his hands. Even through the thick glove, I could feel the heat from his power healing the damage to my hand. When the swelling was down enough for him to get the glove off without it being cut off, he stopped, even though there was still damage to my hand.

"Why not fully heal it?" Joe asked.

"To prove a point she needs to stop punching walls," Dad said with a smirk.

Joe took my hand in his and started rubbing it. Jonny and Josh started making kissy faces at us. There was a knock on the door and Trinity came in looking for Jonny.

"Hey Cass. You looked good out there tonight. How ya feeling?" she asked me.

"I'm good, Trinity. Thanks. How are you doing? I hear you're in the semi-finals for the Diva's Championship and that AJ and Brie were eliminated already."

"Yeah, I'm finally getting the shot that went to you last year, no offense. I'm excited. I guess we've helped each other? You wouldn't have gotten your shot when you did without my injury and I wouldn't have gotten this shot now without you vacating."

"Hey, I would never have wanted you to get hurt for me to get a shot like this."

"I know. It's just the way things played out. We both gave each other shots. We're cool and soon we'll be family. When are we gonna go out looking for your dress?"

I started turning colors.

"I'm kinda busy with matches. And…"

"She should be available to go this week. She tore her stitches and has a minor concussion," Glenn said.

I glared at him. Jonny and Josh started laughing. I could feel Joe struggling not to laugh. Even Dad was struggling not to laugh.

"I guess I'm free this week, per the Director of Operations," I said through clenched teeth.

"Great. I'll call you tomorrow. Me and Ariane will take you out. Joe, you can hang out with the boys. Mark, will you be coming?"

Dad's smirk disappeared. He was as uncomfortable with dress shopping as I was.

"Yes, he will be," I said.

He glared at me and this time, I felt Joe laughing along with Jonny and Josh. Glenn patted Dad on the back laughing with them.

"Awesome. We'll see you tomorrow then," she said to us. "Jonny, we gotta go. If you don't, Ariane said she's driving your car."

Jonny jumped up and pulled Josh with him. He hated when Ariane drove. She had a problem with road rage. They said their good-byes and left.

"Really, Glenn?" I asked him. "Why?"

"You've been engaged for a few months, you should start looking at wedding dresses if you're serious."

I looked at Joe. I was serious about marrying him, but was now the time to go dress shopping, with my crazy mother running around with my rapists? He squeezed my left hand as if he knew what I was thinking.

"I could tell them you're sick tomorrow, Baby Girl," Joe said.

"No. I have to do it sooner or later. I doubt my dad will let me get married in jeans, even if you would," I said.

"Yeah, but do I really need to go with you, Cassie? This isn't really a father/daughter bonding thing," Dad said.

"Hey, if I have to go, so do you. Besides, this is payback for all your weddings. You have to come with me. I had to go to your wedding to Sara and Michelle and both drove me nuts with all that wedding stuff while you were left out of most of it. Revenge is sweet," I said.

Joe started laughing. We decided to just stay in our ring attire and get changed at the hotel. Dad and Glenn met us there and we ordered dinner to be delivered there. It was a fairly quiet night after that, but my min kept going back to Ivy and Jonathan Good.

The following afternoon, true to her word, Trinity called me and said she and Ariane would pick me and Dad up at noon. Dad agreed only if he was the one driving, he'd heard about Ariane being in the car and wanted no chance of her trying to drive at any point. They met us at mine and Joe's room. Josh and Jonny were with them and stayed with Joe as Dad and I left with the girls.

At our first stop, Trinity and Ariane made it clear how much more into this they were then Dad and me. They were using me as a Barbie doll. The wedding consultant recognized us because everyone down south can recognize The Undertaker, and she was a bit starstruck as she helped Trinity and Ariane torture me with dress after dress. None of the dresses seemed right to me.

We went to a few more stores with similar results. I was getting worn out as much as Dad. As we were coming out of the last bridal shop of the day I felt her before I saw her, Ivy was near. I could tell that Dad felt her too. He kept Trinity and Ariane behind us. She crossed the street with Jonathan and Colby on either side of her. Ivy looked from us to the storefront behind us.

"Watcha doing in there, Mark? Last I checked, you were still married. Or are you cheating again?" Ivy said.

Jonathan and Colby snickered. Ariane went to push past me. I held her back and shook my head no. Trinity got it. She knew I was having issues. She helped me, even though she didn't really know who Ivy was.

"Ivy, what are you doing hanging around with these scumbags? Wait, you like guys who abuse you," Dad said.

"What does that say about you?" she asked him.

"I treated you better than you admit and I offered to take you with me. You wanted to stay where you were," Dad said, his rage palpable.

"So which one of these girls is your new baby bride, Mark?"

"I'm not getting married, Ivy. I'm still happily married to Michelle."

"Ivy, back off," I said finding my voice. "You have no right to talk to him like this."

"You need to shut up and mind your business, Cassidy," Ivy said.

"Who the fuck do you think you are, you freak?" Ariane shouted at Ivy, ready to fight.

Wrong move. Ivy looked at her and I could see the fire in her eyes. I pushed Ariane to the ground behind Dad and rushed Ivy, knocking her to the ground before she could attack her. Dad was helping Ariane up and keeping both Trinity and her blocked from Ivy when I got up. She was bleeding from her lip from where I hit her. Jonathan had pulled off of her.

"Don't touch me, you bastard," I growled at him.

"Funny coming from you, considering," he said, talking about my parents' relationship.

I went to burn his hand, but Ivy stopped me.

"I don't think so, Cassie. He's with me, and you're not gonna attack him in front of me," Ivy said.

"You would choose the guy you're fucking over me, wouldn't you, Ivy?" I said.

"What's to choose? Your father took you from me a long time ago and you don't like me anyway."

"You didn't want me! And I wonder why I don't like you!" I was shouting at this point.

"Leave these two alone, Cassie."

"No. They started something with me. And just because you've shown up after five years doesn't mean you can tell me what to do," I said.

"I can overpower you," Ivy said.

"Maybe. Maybe not. I do have the combined power of both of you. Who knows what I can do? I'm done hiding. If you want to stand by a couple of dirtbags like them, you're declaring war with me," I said.

"You've made your choice. Don't complain when you can't handle the consequences, Cassidy."

"I'm not afraid of you, Ivy. Just stay out of my life already."

Ivy turned and left with Jonathan and Colby in tow. Ariane angrily turned me to face her.

"What the hell was that, Cassie?" she demanded.

"That was me protecting you from my mother who was ready to incinerate you, Ariane," I said, looking at Dad.

We decided to have dinner in the hotel again so we could tell Joe, Jonny, and Josh what happened. Ivy made her choice, now we all knew where she stood with us. We needed to be careful.


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter Twenty Six: Summerslam**

The next few months went by in a blur of excitement. I finally spent some time down at the NXT development and got to meet Sara del Ray who helped me immensely with some of my wrestling moves. She was so happy to be able to help a woman who was fighting in the men's division. After all, as she trained the Divas down on NXT she taught them there isn't anything the guys can do that they can't do too. We hit it off really fast and in the month I was down there, I found I had a female friend that was almost as close to me as Denise had been. She couldn't ever replace her, but it was nice to have someone I could all on whenever to talk about anything. Like me, Sara had had to fight to get everywhere she did in the business. Only her fight was with the industry. She found my fight with Dad more impressive.

While at NXT, I also got to meet some of the Superstars that were trying to make it to the main roster. There was one in particular I got close to, and when I left NXT, I argued for her to be promoted as part of the family. Paige. She was amazing in-ring and she was the anti-diva, much like I was. She would fit perfectly into the Family of Destruction. At Summerslam, she would be elevated to the main roster, as my thought-to-be-dead twin sister. I was excited as much as she was. Sara was happy to see her go, because she thought Paige held too much talent to stay in development.

My match at Summerslam was going to be a title defense. My Intercontinental Championship title was up against Bo Dallas, the real-life brother of Bray Wyatt who had been promoted to the main roster a few months prior. He was a solid technical wrestler, but he was afraid of the family, both his brother's and mine. He avoided his brother like I did. As for me, off-camera we were friends, but once I put on the make-up and the title was around my waist, he became a bit intimidated. I was looking forward to the match against him. I hadn't been in-ring with him yet, but what I had seen, once you got past all the jeering from the fans, was impressive. He may not have the flare most wrestlers did, but he had talent and technique. So far, our encounters had all been mind games, mostly on my part, to scare him going into Summerslam. Now we'd see how well he'd hold up.

Other than all of this, the time between my encounters with Ivy and Summerslam had been filled with Trinity and Ariane dragging me dress shopping for the wedding and planning the actual wedding. Going with the true "demonic" nature of the Family of Destruction, Joe and I decided on a Halloween wedding in Salem, Massachusetts. Luckily, we'd been able to make arrangements at one of the most amazing hotels in Salem, the Hawthorn Hotel for the wedding, which was across the street from Salem Commons. We were going to get married the Saturday after Hell in a Cell.

Ivy had shown up a few more times with Dean, but each time, Joe and I dealt with them. I made sure that she didn't hurt Joe, but it was harder to keep my mother from hurting me. During one of these incidents, Ivy went to use a spell on Joe that would have brought him to his knees in pain. I deflected it, and it hit Dean instead. In her anger, Ivy threw a spell at me, one that would damage my physically, not just inflict pain. I started coughing up blood. My rage happened so fast I could barely spread my energy onto Joe to keep him safe before I let the force of the elements free from me. An inferno lit up the alley while a wind storm bordering on a tornado blew around us with hurricane rains and the earth shaking as if the plates of the earth were colliding just below us.

For Ivy, it wouldn't have been too much to shield herself, but she wasn't expecting it, and she was thrown into a wall. Before she could lose consciousness and before I killed him, she grabbed Dean and ran. I continued coughing up blood in Joe's arms as the world turned black and my rage continued to run rampant around us.

I woke up in the basement of the house in Texas. When I did, Dad was sitting next to me, holding my hand. For a minute I was upset that Joe wasn't with me, until I realized where I was and what it meant. If Joe tried to be at my side I could have killed him.

"Is Joe okay? I lost control when Ivy attacked me. I didn't hurt him, did I, Dad?"

"Cassie, he's okay," Dad said gently. "You spread your power to him before you lost control. You didn't hurt him with your power. It didn't touch him."

"But?"

"But, you did hurt Ivy and Jonathan Good. What were you thinking?"

I shook my head. I couldn't believe he was going to try to pin this on me.

"No. Technically Ivy hurt Dean, Dad. All I did was deflect the spell she had flung at Joe. It hit Dean. I didn't fling any of my own spells at him."

"And Ivy?"

"After she attacked me, I lost control. She got caught in that. But I was coughing up blood, Dad! She attacked me! Technically I was defending myself!"

"Alright, we'll figure this out, Cass. Don't worry about it now."

"How long have I been out?"

"Two days. We were worried. You lost a lot of blood before I could calm your power to get to you and Joe."

"How bad?"

"Bad enough."

"Who knows about this?"

"Only me and anyone directly involved. You'll be fine by the time you have to go back to work so there's no need to tell anyone there. Michelle doesn't even know."

"Thanks, Dad."

"No problem," he said as he hugged me. "Are you up to being upstairs? Or do you think you need to be down here for a little longer?"

"I think I'll be fine upstairs."

Ivy had disappeared after that. She wasn't hanging around with Dean anymore and she wasn't coming after me. As Summerslam approached, I put her out of my mind. Instead, I focused on what I needed to do in-ring, which was beat Taylor Rotunda aka Bo Dallas.

The afternoon of Summerslam, I was getting ready for the match against Bo. There was a knock on my locker room door.

"Come in." I called.

When I came out of the bathroom, it was Seth Rollins, who had left me alone for months.

"What do you want, Colby?"

"Joe isn't here, is he?"

"No."

"Good. Can I please just talk to you? I know I have no right, but I would really appreciate it if you would do it anyway. I've tried to show that I've changed the last few months by respecting what you've asked of me, Cassidy. Unlike Jonathan, I've stayed away."

I looked at him hardly and sighed. He was right. He had given me my space. He'd stayed away from me, exactly like I'd told him to. I knew he wanted to challenge me for my title, which there was nothing to stop him from doing, but he'd kept to the sidelines, knowing I didn't want him anywhere near me.

"Fine," I said sitting down. "Sit down and speak. Joe won't be here for another hour or so. He went to get something for us to eat."

Colby looked shocked and excited at the same time. He sat down, as far away as he could get from me, and folded his hands in front of me. I had to give him credit for trying to come across as unintimidating as possible.

"I really am sorry, Cassidy. I don't know why I did the things I did, and I don't deserve anything less than you hating me, but I am sorry. I'm not that guy and I don't understand what got into me."

From what I'd heard about Colby from some of the guys who didn't know what he'd done to me but knew him from his Indy days, he wasn't that guy. They all thought he was great. It didn't change what he'd done to me though.

"People tell me that a lot. I've heard from Bryan and from Claude and even from Phil that you weren't a bad guy, Colby. By it doesn't change the fact that you _raped_ me. I said no, I begged you and Jonathan to stop and you didn't. One of you got me pregnant. The two of you have tortured me for _years_. Even before becoming part of the main roster, and I have no idea why."

"I don't know why I did it, Cassidy. I could sit here and say that it was all Jonathan's fault, but it's not. He didn't force me to do those things. He may have come up with the ideas, but I could have said no. I could have tried to stop him. I didn't. I can't take those things back and I have to live with that for the rest of my life and I know that you do, too."

"So what do you want from me, Colby?"

My thoughts were racing. My life had fallen apart after what he and Dean had done to me. I'd nearly killed myself a few times because of them. I couldn't stand the feeling of them on me.

"You hurt yourself because of us?" Colby asked, reading my thoughts.

"How did you know?" I asked in shock.

Colby started to cry. Right then, I knew he would never hurt me again.

"I'm a telepath, Cassie. I'm sorry. I never knew you would take it out on yourself! It doesn't make it better, but I'm so sorry! Please don't hurt yourself because of me again!"

Colby crossed the room really fast, still crying, stayed on his knees in front of me, took my hands in his, and looked into my eyes.

"I promise I will never hurt you again. I don't care what Jonathan says or does, I don't want any part of it."

Looking into his eyes, I knew he meant every word of what he was saying.

"I believe you, Colby. I don't know if I can forgive you, or I can ever forgive you, but I believe you're not gonna hurt me again."

"Thank you, Cassidy."

"Cassie."

"What?"

"Cassie. Call me Cassie. Really only my father calls me Cassidy and its usually when he's pissed off at me."

"I didn't want to assume you'd want me to call you that. It seems like something a friend would call you."

"It is, but if you're serious about not hurting me, the least I can do is let you call me what I prefer to be called. Besides, if you're willing to try so hard to respect me, maybe I can try to give you another chance. No promises, but maybe, we can be friends someday."

Colby nearly jumped to the ceiling with joy.

"Do you mean that, Cassie? I don't deserve it."

"I know you don't deserve it. But, I know it tears Joe apart that he still cares about you two and he's lost hope on you both. Maybe he can have you back, if you prove to be trustworthy."

"I promise I'll be the best friend you can ever ask for."

"No, you won't. I had one of those and you can never compare to her."

I felt Denise, still invisible, in the room with me. It was then that I realized that maybe she had something to do with this.

"Have you eaten? I could call Joe and ask him to pick up lunch for you before he comes back. It would probably be better he knows you're here before he just walks in and sees you. He might try to kill you if he does."

"Sure. Where'd he go?"

"Burgers. Bloody burgers and fries are my friends, and the strawberry milkshake is my mistress."

Colby laughed and told me what to ask Joe to pick up for him. Joe was shocked, but said we could talk about it at the hotel after work. When I got off the phone, I reassured Colby Joe wouldn't kill him.

"So how do you eat like this and keep in shape?"

"I burn through the food pretty quick."

"How?"

"I just do. I need an iron-rich diet. So I tend to eat red meat a lot, especially when I'm stressed or hurt."

"Most of the Divas I know live like I do, on a diet with Diet drinks, energy drinks, and eternally doing Cross-Fit. Do you Cross Fit?"

"1-I'm no Diva, and I need my strength to take on the Superstars I do. 2- Diet soda? Yuck. That shit makes me want to hurl. 3- Energy drinks would probably have me high as a kite. I'm not supposed to be a bouncy character remember? And 4- Cross Fit? You mean the exercise cult? No, I haven't done that. I lift weights and Joe goes for a run with me twice a day."

"You should Cross Fit with me. Joe used to do it all the time. Why don't the three of us do it together sometime? Maybe before Raw tomorrow?"

"No."

His head dropped.

"I understand. Sorry."

"No, you don't. It would be stupid for me to try a new training regiment right before a show. Maybe Wednesday or Thursday."

He lifted his head excited again.

"Sure! I'll bring the Kill Cliff!"

"No way! I'm not touching that shit! I'd like to be able to sleep this year," I said laughing.

As I said that, Joe walked into the locker room with the food. He looked from Colby, still on his knees at my feet, to me.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"Colby is trying to convert me to a Cross Fit and Kill Cliff addict."

"Baby Girl I don't think you need Kill Cliff to get high like him."

"I told him no," I said laughing again. "Besides, I value the ability to sleep. Something tells me if I start on that shit, I'll never do it again."

"You might not, but who needs sleep?" Colby said happily as he got up and helped Joe set up our food. "How do you let her eat so badly, Joe? Milkshakes and burgers? Salad and water is healthier."

"Hey!" I said interrupting. "Don't forget you ordered yourself a bacon cheeseburger Two-Tone!"

"She's got you there, Colby," Joe said.

"Okay. You got a point. I just never met a woman who eats like her. She eats like the guys."

"I also wrestle like and with the guys. Don't treat me differently. I'm not that fragile."

We sat down and ate. I could tell Joe was wary of Colby, but at the same time, it was almost as if he didn't know what had happened between me and him. It was very clear that Joe missed Colby's friendship. It was just as clear that Colby missed Joe. Maybe Joe could help Colby stay on the right path.

When Summerslam officially started, Colby left the locker room because Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose had the second match of the night against Jimmy and Jey Uso. When he left, Joe didn't have time to question me because I had to finish getting ready for my match against Bo, which was right after Colby's match. Joe walked me down to the gorilla position where Taylor was waiting for his music to start. When it did, he gave me a huge smile and bounced out onto the stage. Joe gave me a hug and then Colby came running over to us.

"Guys, I'm going out with you," he said quickly.

"What? People think you still hate me."

"That's why I'm coming down a minute into your match. You need back-up, Cassie and Joe isn't ready to go yet."

"What the hell is going on, Colby?" Joe growled.

"I just heard Jon talking to one of the NXT guys. They're gonna ambush you during your match. Joe go get dressed. Cassie, I'll follow you out. I'm not letting him hurt you. He's got Corey Graves with him."

Joe gave me a quick kiss and rushed off to our locker room. He was almost ring-ready, but he needed to change a little more. I was worried. I knew Taylor wouldn't have done this. This was all Jonathan Good.

"At least he can't be down there himself, but you know he's gonna see this, Colby. Are you sure you're ready for that?"

"I promised you. I meant it."

"I appreciate the warning and the help, but I'm just warning you to remember what happened when Joe turned on you and Jonathan. You're facing that now. If you choose not to, I'd understand and would still trust you because you warned me what was coming."

I hugged him and had to leave before he could respond. My music had started and it was my time to head to the ring. He had to think about what was best for him. I didn't want him blindly doing things because of me.

The bell rang and Bo came at me. We locked up center ring for about a minute. I broke away from him and hit him with a right hand, knocking him halfway across the ring. He ran back at me and I grabbed him, performing a swinging neck breaker. When he got back up, he grabbed me and performed a power bomb on me, picking me right back up and hitting me with a suplex. As he rolled over and covered me he whispered to me.

"Did I hurt you, Cassie?"

"I'm fine. Don't worry. I'm tougher than I look," I replied as I kicked out at two.

I got up and performed a sidewalk slam on Bo and then grabbed him by his left arm, forcing him to his feet, led him to the ropes, where I climbed to the top rope and performed Old School on him. While he writhed around in pain on the mat, the music hit, Corey Graves was running to the ring. Just before he got to the ring, new music hit, Joe's. And as he came running down to the ring, Colby came running with him.

The two of them went to work on Corey Graves until everyone heard it _"Sierra. Hotel. India. Echo. Lima. Delta. The Shield." _Dean Ambrose came running from behind them and attacked Colby. While Dean and Seth went at it, Roman and Corey Graves went at it. I went back to my match. In the background I could vaguely hear the announcers going crazy over what was going on.

"SETH ROLLINS AND DEAN AMBROSE ARE HAVING AN ALL-OUT FIGHT! DEAN AMBROSE HAS ATTACKED SETH ROLLINS!" King screamed.

Bo hit me with a DDT. Instead of covering me, he started to showboat. While he did, I sat up like my father did in matches. When he turned back to me, he flinched. I got to my feet and chokeslammed him. As he stirred, I picked him up and Tombstoned him. I covered him, and won the match. New music started to play. Paige.

Paige made her way down to the ring. She ignored the carnage of Corey Graves and Dean Ambrose. She ignored Bo pretending to be out cold in the ring. She didn't acknowledge Roman who was at my side or Seth who was just outside the ring. She came right to me, with a mic in her hand.

"Morgana. It has been too long, hasn't it,_ Sister?"_ she said with her British accent.

"Who the hell are you?" I said, playing my part.

"Don't you recognize me anymore? You should. We are _twins_ after all," she continued.

The lights went out. The gong rang. The temperature dropped. Dad made his way to the ring. He looked from me to Paige. He was playing his part well.

"Where have you been hidden all these years?" he asked her at last.

"You will find out when the time is right, _Dad_. But I'm here now, and decided to say hi to my darling sister who has obviously forgotten all about me," she said turning to me. "Or did you, Morgana? Did you forget the man you saw grab me when we were little girls?"

"I… I don't know what…" I stammered through my lines as I was supposed to.

"Morganna?" Dad looked at me questioningly.

"I don't remember," I said, looking away from him. "I thought she was dead like you did, Dad."

"Do you know what she's talking about?"

"No! I don't!" I exclaimed.

I went to storm past her, but Paige stopped me.

"Don't worry, Sister. This is our dominion. Our family will show all these pathetic creatures. We'll take control of everything," she said as she smiled at me.

I smiled back at her and she raised my arm, the one with the Intercontinental Championship, in victory for my match. Together, Paige and I made our way out of the ring, with Dad, Roman, and Seth trailing behind us.


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter Twenty Seven: Wrath of the Mother**

Saraya-Jade Bevis aka Paige and Colby Lopez started hanging out more after Summerslam. It worried me. While I was trying to give Colby another chance and he had helped keep Corey Graves from attacking me during my match with Bo Dallas, in the back of my mind I couldn't just forget the fact that he had raped me and may have been the father of the child I had aborted a few months earlier. Still, Saraya knew Colby better than I did in some ways, so without reason to feel he was acting wrong, I didn't want to involve her in this.

By Thursday, I had run out of reasons not to go to the Cross Fit gym with Colby, so Saraya and Joe came with me. Saraya did Cross Fit at least three times a week and Joe still kept up with it when he went to the gym without me. I was the only one who was walking into something new.

It was a one hour class, but it kicked my ass. At the end of it, I was on the mats, refusing to move. I hurt everywhere. We'd done weights, kickboxing, rope climbing, kettlebell work. You name it, the Cross Fit instructor challenged us to it. Finally, Joe came over and picked me up. I snuggled into his shoulder. Colby and Saraya went to the locker rooms and grabbed our things. I was done. I wanted sleep.

Joe put me in our car and I fell asleep on the way to the hotel. I woke up in my bed a few hours later with him next to me, listening to his iPod. He didn't realize I had woken up because he was clearly lost in thought. I tried to curl up with him without letting him know I woke up, but when I tried to shift my muscles started screaming and I winced in pain. Joe looked down at me and smiled meekly.

"I should have warned you to take things slower at the gym. Cross Fit is not like your normal workout. Are you okay?"

"I'll be fine," I said, wincing as I rolled back to where I was.

"You should soak in a warm bath and I'll call and order you a steak. How does that sound?"

"Are you okay, Joe?"

"Yeah, why?"

"You seem kinda lost."

"I don't understand, Cassie."

"What don't you understand?"

"How can you deal with Colby after what he did to you?"

I knew it was coming. We hadn't talked about it after Summerslam because Colby came out with Paige, Joe, and me to celebrate after the event. We had said we'd talk about it, but by the time we got back to the hotel, I was too tired. I forced myself to sit up and look at my fiancé.

"It's not easy," I said honestly. "But I've heard people talk about Colby. I've heard _you_ talk about Colby from before you knew what him and Jonathan had done to me. Can you honestly tell me that you _ever_ would have thought him to be capable of what he did to me?"

Joe looked me in the eyes and then looked away.

"No. Colby has always been such a good guy. If I hadn't seen what you've been like and how you react to him and Jonathan, I don't know I'd be able to believe he had done what he did. I'm sorry, Cass."

"Don't be. You knew Colby better than me. I'm not mad that you would have thought I lied if you didn't know how hard a time I've been going through because of all of this. I don't blame you."

"But how can you stand to be around him? How do you trust him?"

"Like I said, it's not easy. I'm giving him another chance to prove himself to me. He has to _earn_ my trust. I didn't say I fully trust him. But I do trust him after what happened at the arena on Sunday."

"What do you mean?"

"When you were gone, he came to me and asked me if he could talk to me. He didn't demand anything of me. He pointed out he had done what I had asked and stayed away from me for the last few months. So I thought about it and gave him a chance, which shocked him. He kept as much distance from me as he could and kept his hands where I could see him as he apologized and told me he didn't know why he did what he did, how easy it would be to blame Jonathan, but he wouldn't do it because in the end, they were _his _actions. He accepted responsibility for what he did and accepted that it was something we would both have to live and deal with for the rest of our lives. No excuses, just honesty. That meant something to me. It sent me into a bit of a tailspin, I'll be honest, but that's when the Colby I've heard so much about seemed to shine through. He ran to me, dropping to his knees in tears, holding my hands and asking me not to hurt myself because of him again," I explained to Joe. "I never told him about the cutting."

"How did he know?"

"It was going through my mind. I was thinking about how badly I dealt with what they'd done to me, how I had cut myself so badly I had nearly killed myself. He pulled it out of my head. When I called him on it he admitted he's a telepath. He can read minds, Joe."

"What?"

"I was shocked too, but I was more shocked that it seemed to be the first time he actually picked up on my thoughts. Either my blocks are better than I thought or he intentionally blocks people. But I'm almost certain that was the first night he slipped into my thoughts, possibly because I was in turmoil. I could see his genuine regret. I made it clear to him I would give him a chance but I made no promises of anything else. He knows he doesn't deserve it, but he seemed grateful. You showed up not that long after, while he was still trying to make me laugh."

Joe was in shock. He had never suspected Colby of having powers. I knew I would have to tell Colby that I had told Joe, but he'd have to deal because my relationship with my fiancé meant more to me than my relationship with him whether I was giving him another chance or not.

"He proved he was serious, Joe. He could have just stood back and let Jonathan send Corey Graves after me on Sunday while I was in the ring with Taylor. I wouldn't have had you at ringside. But just like you did, he chose to do the right thing, even after I warned him what would happen with Jonathan."

"What do you mean?"

"I reminded him of what happened after you turned on The Shield to stand by my side. I told him I trusted him because he warned me, but he didn't have to come down the ramp because it would put him where you were, with all the problems. I told Colby he could just stand back and let us handle it and I wouldn't blame him because if he helped me Jonathan would know. He _still chose_ to come down that ramp with you. He made it clear to Jonathan he's done with his shit. If his warning wasn't enough, his actions spoke a lot louder."

"I can't believe you warned him and he still helped."

"I think he misses you as much as you miss him."

"I don't…"

"Joe, I know you miss Colby and Jonathan. I see it every time you see them. A look in your eyes, regret that things ended the way they did with them. They were your brothers. Yes, it was more before you found out the truth, but I can still see it sometimes even now. I don't blame you. I'm not mad at you. I don't know if Jonathan Good will ever come around like Colby, but Colby has shown he's trying to be a new man. Who am I to stop that? Who am I to try to stop him from becoming a better person? And if you get your friend back? Even better. Especially since I think you can keep him from following Jonathan again."

Joe hugged me. I winced in pain.

"I love you."

"I love you too, but let me go."

Joe laughed and walked into the bathroom. I could hear the water running. A few minutes later, he came in and put me in the tub to soak in warm water. The water felt good, but it stung. I didn't know why, so I pulled my tank top off and saw there was blood on my shirt.

"JOE!" I called to him.

He came running into the bathroom. The water was starting to turn pink. I was starting to panic. He looked from the water to my bloody shirt finally letting his eyes rest on my rib cage where to source of the blood was coming from. There was a gash about six inches long along the right side of my ribs.

"Cassie, why?" he asked.

"Joe, I don't know what the hell happened. I swear!" I exclaimed, freaked out.

I got up to get out of the tub. As he was looking at me, another gash opened up near the first one, this one closer to my heart. I got dizzy. I was losing a lot of blood. Joe pulled me out of the tub and put me on the floor.

"Call Dad! Now!"

**Roman's POV:**

I couldn't believe what I had just seen. Cassie was bleeding. I thought she might have slipped up, but after seeing the whole Freddy Krueger attack on her while she was standing in front of me, I knew she was telling the truth when she said she hadn't. I put her on the bathroom floor and put pressure on the cuts. They were bleeding pretty bad.

"Call Dad! Now!" she yelled at me.

I got up and ran to my bedroom, grabbing my cell phone. I quickly dialed Mark. He picked up on the third ring.

"Hey, Joe. How are you?" he said to me.

"I need your help. Cassie's bleeding badly. One of the cuts is near her heart."

"Damn it! The two of you swore she had been getting better!"

"Mark! She didn't do it. I was standing in front of her when one of the cuts just opened up near her heart. I'm trying to stop the bleeding but she told me to call you. Please, just come help me."

"I'll be there right away, Joe. Just don't let her die. Please."

"I'll try. I promise."

I hung up the phone, bringing it back to the bathroom with me. I carried Cassie to the living room area of the suit and put her on the coffee table, still putting pressure on the cuts. My heart was racing a mile a minute. More cuts had appeared on her. I didn't know what the hell was happening to her.

It seemed like forever, but Mark finally showed up. I opened the door, not even saying anything to him before I turned away and went back to Cassie. She was paler than I had ever seen her. Her breathing was shallow, and I was having trouble making the bleeding stop. Mark followed me in, immediately kneeling down next to his bleeding daughter. I could feel her slipping away from me and I knew he would too.

"What happened to her, Joe?" he asked as he held her hands.

There was heat radiating from him. I didn't know what he was doing, but I knew he was trying to help her.

"We went to the gym with Saraya and Colby this morning. He convinced her to try Cross Fit with him. She overdid it, so I brought her back here and put her to bed since she fell asleep in the car anyway. When she woke up she was sore and stiff. Everything made her wince, even a hug. So I fixed a warm bath for her and put her in, as is, plus a tank top, not wanting to make her hurt more. I was gonna call and order a steak for her to help her heal herself when she yelled for me. When I got to the bathroom she was bleeding from her ribs. I thought she'd done something when I saw the tub water turning pink. She said she didn't but I didn't know what else to think, Mark. Then another cut just opened closer to her heart. A bunch of other cuts have opened since I called you. I keep trying to stop the blood, but I can't. She's barely breathing and she's cold. Don't leave me, Cassie. _Oute alofa ia oe_. Please get better, Cassidy. "

Mark just focused on Cassie, staying quiet for a few minutes. I was stroking her hair, whispering I love you, in English and Samoan over and over again.

"Fuck!"

"What's wrong?"

"Cassidy's abilities. Her empathy is unlocked. It's why no matter how many cuts you stop, more open. Her body is flashing on all her old injuries, all Denise's old injuries, anyone she cares about who has been injured around her, their injuries are manifesting on her right now. I'm trying to block them out, but there's only one other person who could undo what I did."

"Ivy."

Mark nodded. Cassie's mother, the one who had chosen her attacker over her daughter was attacking her in a way that could kill her.

"Why would she do this?"

"Dean. He could get her to do this. He could have her thinking it's for the best. With Cassie having fought with her mother so much, her mother may not second guess it. She might view Cassie as a threat that needs to be dealt with. If that's the case, I hope I got here in time."

"What if you didn't?"

"Then I'm going to lose my daughter."

"We can't lose her, Mark. I love her. You love her. There has to be a way."

"I think I've stopped the bleeding for now. I'm gonna try to lock the suite down. Call Glenn. I could use the help. Tell him to get over here and bring Devin."

Mark started walking around the room and I picked up my phone with one hand, one hand holding Cassie's at all times. I found Glenn's number in my phone book and dialed. He picked up on the fourth ring.

"What's up, Joe?"

"Mark needs you to come to my hotel room and bring Devin. Now."

"I'm on my way."

Glenn disconnected. He must know something is seriously wrong if he didn't ask for any information. I put my phone down and my focus was split between watching Mark walk around the room and watching to make sure Cassie didn't start bleeding again. Mark let Glenn and Devin in when they got to the room. He also explained what was going on. I could feel the anger coming off of the two of them.

Devin came and sat where Mark had been, taking Cassie's other hand. I didn't know what she could do, but since Mark and Cassie had abilities, I wasn't surprised that Devin did, too. Cassie's breathing started getting better, the color started returning to her face. I looked at Devin. The color was draining from her face. Still, Cassie looked better.

"Thank you, Devin."

"She's my niece and I love her, Joe," she said weakly.

She stood up and started walking around the suite with Mark and Glenn. The more they did, the more the room felt different. But I also noticed the more the room felt different to me, the better Cassie looked. Finally, Devin collapsed outside the bathroom. I jumped up and picked her up in my arms before Mark and Glenn broke their focus, carrying her into my bed, leaving her there to rest after covering her. Mark was in the doorway of my room when I came out.

"What did you do?"

"Devin collapsed. I think she wore herself out helping you and Glenn do whatever you were doing after helping Cassie. I just put her in my bed to rest. Feel free to check on her. I don't know what to do for her, but the least I could do is get her off the floor and into a bed."

"Thanks for watching my sister, Joe."

"You're both trying to help the woman I love, who happens to be your daughter and her niece. I can't do much, but I can do that."

Mark walked into the room and I closed the door behind him. I heard Glenn call to me from the living room area and went rushing out, afraid something happened to Cassie. I was relieved to find her sitting up on the couch, leaning on Glenn.

"Cassidy! Oute alofa ia oe! Please don't leave me!" I exclaimed as I hugged her.

"I love you too, Joe," she said, sounding a little weak. "What happened?"

"Ivy," Mark said, coming out of my room. "She's unlocked your empathy, Cassie. We need to keep you in this hotel room for a few days. Until we figure out if we can lock it off again."

"What do you mean _if_, Mark? You've done it before. Why wouldn't you be able to do it now?"

"Because she's the one who undid it. Dad can lock off my abilities, but if Ivy wants to knock down his locks, she can because she has just as much an in to my energy as he does because she gave birth to me. In some ways, she can do things like that easier than Dad. If she's trying to knock me down like this, we need to stop her."

"Can we?" I asked.

"We will find a way," Mark replied. "Ivy isn't invincible. Maybe we need to go after her through that asshole Jon Goode. If she's too distracted because of him, we might have a chance to knock her back out of Cassie's life."

"Why is she doing this to her own daughter?" I asked.

I couldn't understand. My family and I had our fair share of issues, but none of us would ever let things go far enough that death was so close. Cassie was on Death's door. I felt it. I was losing her.

"Her mother is spiteful. There could be a number of reasons. Anything from Cassie standing up to her to Mark having custody to the situation with Jon Goode," Glenn explained.

We spent the rest of the night plotting against Jon and Ivy. When Devin woke up, I ordered dinner. I've never ordered so many rare steaks in my life for just five people, but they needed them. As we ate I saw all of them started to look healthier than they had. We knew what we had to do. We would get Ivy out of Cassie's life and make Jon pay for what he'd caused.

**A/N: Please read and review. I'm sorry my chapters have been slow again. After Wrestlemania (The Streak) and the death of Ultimate Warrior, I've been down and it's been hard to write. I'm starting to get back to it again though. Please be patient.**

**~Taker Reigns**


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